Atum-Coma: City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale
by Monkeybandit2
Summary: As events unfold, chaos ensues for good, evil, insanity, and occasional pointless bickering! Enter a world through another's eyes and see what happens! (Not a First Person story telling.) (Inspired by AtumComa The City Hidden in the Nexus by Demonabyss)
1. Chapter 1

**The following characters and concepts belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**I would like to thank ****_Demonabyss_**** for granting me permission to use his story as a base for my own, and the originator of the story ****_Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus_**** to which gave birth to this variation of the story.**

**I hope you enjoy the read!**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 1: Twist of fate and a gambit!

Konoha Woods, Eight-thirty-four pm

"There's nothing quite like night time," sighed a dirty blond haired child as he looked up at the stars.

"I prefer the sun myself brat," mumbled a unseen figure.

"Yeah well nuts to you," mumbled the child right back.

If the figure could have been seen, it would have been seen with its tongue sticking out and raspberrying the boy. It was an act returned in kind without the benefit of being unseen. From there it quickly devolved into a two person war between the fake flatulence and pointless bickering between the boy and the unseen figure.

To a casual observer who happen upon this scene, it would appear that the boy was undoubtedly not right in the head as he carried on a argument with a nonexistent partner in the act. Had they been gifted with the power of telepathy, or were more accustomed to far stranger sights than this, they would've known that the boy was not so much as insane as he was 'possessed...' if one ran on bare minimum intelligence regarding sealing. The screeching like a primate at times did little to help the boy's case however during some points of passionate rebuttal or verbal attacks.

This cycle however ran the same course if they knew the boy. First comes a seemingly placid statement of opinion, then came an argument that required almost no provocation from either the boy or his burden, and then as it always ends came a round of training... in the use of lava.

This was Naruto Uzumaki, host of one of the nine tailed beasts of the Elemental Nations, and one of two that resided in Konoha's newfound number of two containers of the bijuu.

Years ago, wrapped in mystery by the general masses, not one but _two_ of such creatures had appeared in the vicinity of Konoha. First and the most terrible was the Nine-Tailed Fox that ravaged the land and slain any who were either brave or foolish enough to stand against it, including the Fourth Hokage of Konoha as a price of self sacrifice to stop the rampaging gargantuan fox.

It was also a price to stop a second beast deserving as much fame and of terror, though not earned in the eyes of the shinobi village. It's name-

The boy spat out a globule of molten fire in a poor attempt to utilize it as a projectile. "Hey Son, what am I doing wrong?" he asked with a grain of annoyance, more directed at his own failure than anything else.

"You added too much of the earth element brat," rumbled the bijuu.

Son Goku, the Four-Tailed Monkey. Bijuu of the presumed dead Stone shinobi Roshi Dy. As to why, and how, he, Son Goku, was present in the attack by the Nine-Tails remains a mystery to the skeptical. To the foolhardy the answer was readily available by a more false source: "Because he felt he had owed the great Senju for its generosity and kindness to him."

"Balderdash." The most commonly used rebuke to this claim from the bijuu on any given time.

As to what happened to Roshi, his former host, he knew not in detail. He only knew that the Sharingan was in play, and that he had fought against his 'brother' for only moments before he found himself sealed inside a new host. That was what Naruto learned from him at least.

Whatever the case is, he and Naruto now shared a more interesting life than he had expected. It was a life fraught with adventure, danger, plotting, and occasional thievery!

"Hey Son, do you remember where we stashed the crate of apples we made off with today?"

"Third branch to the farthest tree to your immediate right..." Son Goku grumbled.

"The bananas were too heavy in those large groups, it was that or starve," counter grumbled Naruto.

"You could've made off with one of them brat," grumbled the bijuu once more.

"The yellow would've drawn attention," counter Naruto as he made his way to the targeted tree and climbed to the branch he desired to find the apple crate propped against the more leafed covered outlying branches. A begrudging grunt came forth as Naruto pried the crate open and retrieved one of the edible prizes that was immediately beset by a ravenous maw.

"I still say you could've made the effort brat." His answer was a rather large bite of the victimized apple.

Looking up, he grinned at the moon and stars that and more than once greeted him with the setting of the sun. Though Son Goku had his complaints, night was far more preferable than day; the dark of night was freedom incarnate for him. Few people were ever out, and so few restrictions were given. He could run, he could jump, he can shout and train to his heart's content. He can walk out on a street and laugh without being glared at. He can eat a meal without looking over his shoulder to find someone sneaking up behind him or at least giving him the evil eye; so few ever gave him any other look, he could even count them with both hands.

He smiled as he went over the list once more: The pair that ran the only ramen stand that never ran him off, Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku. Then there was his fellow orphan Tenten Bell who also shared the same apartment complex as him as per the shinobi training program for orphans, unfortunately she was not as an avid night dweller like himself; he could swear he heard muffled chuckling from the massive ape-like monkey every time that fact came up. Hinata Hyuga, however strange it was that most definitely got the banana-whiner to snicker about it. Last but not least are Iruka Umino and old man Sarutobi, aka the Third Hokage.

Though good hearted, thinking about them did make him grimace in slight disgust for what thoughts that followed them, no matter how bright and cheery the memory or event is. Iruka had taken the time to help Naruto on many a occasion, yet he could only do so much as a teacher and as a person surrounded by the village in general. It was a likewise case for the Third Hokage, both, or rather all three of them, had a common denominator towards their limitations: one boy running amok as the alleged container of the Four-Tails as far as the villagers were concerned; the false host as it were.

A sneer encroached itself on him followed by a growl from Goku himself as the thought of the only other host entered his mind. "What is his problem?!" He too was an orphan yet he sat at the lap of luxury much like the last Uchiha of the village, the true difference between them is their attitude... a brooding Uchiha was far more preferable to the so called "Senju," so named for being 'host' of the bijuu that 'helped' in the village's defense where in truth it was he who held Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Needless to say, with enough people to believe in the farce it didn't matter regarding who held who; if he, Naruto, was to say he was the container of Son Goku he would only be met with obstinate denial by the masses.

Tossing the apple core away, Naruto soon found another apple in his clutch to which he devoured a bit more angrily. Almost immediately he spat out the partially chewed piece into his palm in revulsion, to which he looked onto the piece of apple in both hands with a critical eye. Sighing, he popped the original piece back into his mouth and ate away after finding no fault on the apple's part. He shook his head in exasperation in a small attempt to clear his mind and vent the frustration built up inside. It didn't do well to hold a grudge, and it always spoiled any food or drink he consumed.

A lone hand of his own stopped just short of rubbing the back of his neck in time for the wind to shift and blow against him, bringing forth a scent all too familiar to him and Son Goku amongst other things.

With every sanctuary came the threat of someone, something, in fact anything could and would eventually come along and threatened it if not destroy it.

The air was charged with malice, only detectable from years of being hunted by the skilled and the unskilled alike. "Damn it," Naruto growled as he leapt off the branch after abandoning his apple. Unceremoniously he dropped to the ground in a roll and dove into a bush and tore into it till he found what he was looking for, a satchel filled to the brim of what was deemed essential, and absconded into the depths of the surrounding woods.

XVX

Hokage Tower

"Neko, take a team with you to find and protect Naruto! Yamori, Kanaria, Hebi, go and alert every available and off duty Jonin you can gather and arrest this mob and turn them over to the Torture and Investigation department! Mausu, inform Ibiki that he is to cease his current activities immediately to perform a investigation as to who is a part of this mob, if this is a planned attack or not, and find any at all conspirators to this! Everyone else is with me!" ordered an irate elderly man as he donned battle garb reminiscent to an unprotected shinobi of old, only bearing a helmet bearing his village's forehead protector and only one gauntlet lashed to his right arm.

A snarl kept itself engraved to his features as he finished the last strap and bolted from his office, followed by a plethora of masked shinobi bearing animal masks. The elderly man's raced as he confronted, questioned, and half answered theories to this latest predicament that moved against Naruto without fear. His mind had drawn at least two hypotheses, though both would have to be looked into later.

Had he taken a moment to stop at his office and gaze into a crystal ball, at least one answer could've been found.

XVX

Senju compound

"Shut the hell up you beast." An amused chuckle rumbled out of nowhere despite the vehement snarl from a young boy in the darkness of the study.

"Are you afraid that you're cushy lifestyle will dissappear in the event the monkey's host dies?" an unseen figure asks a lone boy without making one effort to hide its glee derived from the boy's fear.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" the boy bellowed as he ripped through a desk only to be perturbed by a greater bark of laughter.

"Do you think I'm afraid you mongrel?! That I can't survive under my own power if that bastard dies?!" challenged the boy. A smirk seen by no one adorns the youth's face as he reveled in victoriously quieting his greatest annoyance. It was short lived as a strange mix of a growl and laughter emerged once more.

"You always been afraid. Why else have you kept up this charade and lies about who you hold, boy? Why is it you now panic and seek an iota of security in a family line that isn't yours?"

Teeth gnashed and ground into each other in yet another snarl as the study was torn apart. "Even _if_ you somehow pull off that you are indeed a _Senju_, how pray tell will you keep it a secret that you are the prison of me instead of the monkey?" the voice mocked. The boy stopped dead in his tracks and balled his hands into fists.

"What will it take to get you to be silent. Do I need to create a muzzle? A rope? Or perhaps spear you..." In the dark, a pair of eyes widened in a revelation.

"What are you doing boy?" The door to the study flew open as a the only resident in the compound rushed by. The moonlight peeking in through various windows of the hallway revealing the boy to be wearing a blue kosode on with a rich purple undershirt cropping out from the top due to the slight parting of the robe. If one were to take a careful look on him they would swear it was Naruto that walked before them... yet there were differences. His hair, though spiky like Naruto's, had a light orange gleam to it with red highlights and was permitted to grow in length where Naruto's was short let alone dirtied with accumulated filth. Whisker marks adorned his cheeks where Naruto's was flawless, sans whatever grime Naruto had between washes. Last were his eyes bearing a color of hazel as opposed to blue.

One of his eyes flicks to a passing window to take in these features and he remains passive in his pursuit of a more... grander purpose. A purpose that earned a growl from the bijuu that was kept inside the boy that promised eternal pain when the boy stopped and leered at a portrait of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage.

XVX

Forest

Being a container had benefits when it came to the human body. A certain rate of regeneration, what could be considered bloodline limits such as being host to Son Goku for example gave the ability to wield lava, a greater endurance, larger chakra pools, and a vast amount of stamina, though to be fair Naruto had long developed it in previous situations and secretive training. It the last that was certainly the chief factor between Naruto and a horde of civilians. Unfortunately shinobi were another problem all together.

At most he was only nicked once to date and it wasn't from poor aim. Between the trees, knowledge and experience, and being a child, a count of thirty kunai and shuriken have been wasted in a bid to harm him with the count continuing to rise.

"Turn left!"

Rounding around a tree, Naruto evaded yet another set of kunai and shuriken that embedded themselves in the bark. It mattered little to the boy who ran straight into a cave at his bijuu's behest. Immediately he knew it was a labyrinth, natural formed or not, that was illuminated by a strange glowing fungus growing in patches. What peace there was quickly was destroyed when Son Goku's urgency.

"Right! Left! Another left!"

The shouts of shinobi and the baying of hounds soon echoed off the walls in their own pursuit of the container while the actual trackers either got lost or found his trail... undoubtedly due to the dogs.

"Stupid sense of smell," uttered Naruto in a growl.

"Just keep running!"

In a turn with no choice, the monkey container found himself staring at a door bearing bright crimson runes of origins unknown. Lack of a proper education notwithstanding. A strange ringing sensation lingered in his ears, though it was oddly didn't bother him, and as he approached the door the ringing only grew louder while the ringing itself was joined and fused with other reverberations he couldn't name. All of it was drowned as the barks and shouts drew ever closer.

The door soon found itself opened and subsequently slammed shut long before the first shinobi arrived on the scene.

"Oi! He went this way!" The runes reacted in seconds of the first foot fall towards them.

A screech of pain engulfed the tunnel as a handful of shinobi came in due haste, only to find a burnt body crashing into a wall. All of them hugged the wall and crept along it till the furthermost could peek over the corner, and was met with a similar fate of his comrade with a side of his face. Amidst a cry of pain he was pulled out of the way by a more able shinobi as he formed one handed seals and puffed his cheeks.

Past the door, Naruto was at a frenzy as he ripped open boxes and pulled drawers of what was at least a storage room if not a study with Son only egging him on!

"It looks like a shiny kunai! Keep at it brat!"

"Not helping you old bastard!"

The frantic search was made worse with the pounding on the door and screams of the wounded and vengeful alike. Tearing off the lid, he found the object he was searching for. Identified more so from the happy screech of Son Goku rather than the fact it _looked_ like a "shiny kunai." It looked to be made of crystal with a marble edge of black, with the same coloring on runes etched into the blade that were similar to what was found on the door behind him which was still under attack. There was a cloth of a more blood-like crimson that wrapped around the handle that felt smoother than silk as his fingers discovered upon picking it up.

Chakra surged forth and shot into the 'kunai' without heed of the brief cry of surprise from the container himself. The crystal weapon lapped it up hungrily and expelled a globule of a shimmering blue mass that stopped just short of a nearby wall and expanded into a portal to an unknown land with a silver lining around the gateway itself. Before a question was raised, Naruto's body moved against his will to the portal in a bum rush.

As soon as the body absconded into the portal, it immediately collapsed onto itself without a shred of evidence to prove its existence.

XVX

(The following excerpt is directly from _Demonabyss_' story _Atum-Coma: City Hidden in the Nexus_ and is in no way mine.)

**DARK TOME: Items**

**Keys of the Dark:** A key of the dark is a rare and valuable item. These items allow the user to transport themselves from one realm or world to another. However, a key of the dark can only bridge two specific worlds just as a door can only connect two specific rooms. The location the user ends up in either world is usually random unless there is an anchor of some sort attuned to the key in that world. It is important to note that keys are difficult to make and require a decent amount of energy to activate. As a result normal humans and creatures unable to manipulate energy cannot use them. Humans trained to use their chakra, or any other energy source from their body, for example would be able to. Also, keys of the dark don't necessarily have to be keys. They can be any item of any size, usually small items like a ring, watch, knife, etc. for ease of use and transport. Some keys can also be attuned to a certain type of energy or even a certain blood line.

**WARNING**: Keys of the dark should be used with caution. Near constant use or using too much power may result in the key being damaged or destroyed. Damaged keys should **NOT **be used as they may result in landing the user in limbo rather than their destination of choice or possibly having the user killed while going through an unstable portal.

**A/N: ****_Monkey Tale_**** is my imagining of ****_Atum-Coma_**** with certain events changed and even altered, such as the fact that Son Goku (Four-Tailed Monkey) is Naruto's tailed beast instead of Kurama (Nine-Tailed Fox).**

**As to Naruto's awareness of Son Goku, I hold a belief that said character would be too prideful to be ignored and would most likely made at least one or two attempts to be acknowledged by his new host if nothing else. From there the stone only rolls down hill, so to speak.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter but unfortunately this story will be held back in favor of my current stories ****_Assassin_**** and ****_Path of a Monk_****. With that said, I do apologize especially to ****_Demonabyss_**** who has expressed interest in seeing my own incarnation of his hard work.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The following characters and concepts found in this story belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**All Dark Tome entries are from the original author ****_Demonabyss_****, minus any entry marked with a asterisk (*), those are custom made and not found in the original story. At the very least I don't remember finding them in it... (Secretly hires an army of mercenaries for protection)**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 2: New World Blues

Wasteland

"North!"

"South!"

"East!"

"West!"

Since their arrival they had been bickering on which way to go in the apparent wasteland of darkened earth, dead or dying trees, the occasional ruin to mark civilization had existed there at one point in time, and a constantly overcast sky that gave no indication to prove if the sun was up or not. When the sun _did_ peek through near invisible cracks, Son Goku made sure to capitalize on the moment...

"Sunny day, while away the afternoon..."

"I'm not listening!"

Going back to Konoha was a tempting thought in Naruto's mind each time his only companion had taken to singing any song he had heard over the years that showed his favoritism of the sun, no matter how minute it was.

As far as either could tell only three days have passed since their arrival to the desolate plains bereft of life save for the struggling plant life in certain spots where the darkness was the greatest. The only things that greeted them to date were the destroyed shells of homes and other buildings, and chance encounters with skeletons of an age that passed. The ruins themselves have been picked clean by looters, scavengers, or even by time itself long before they came.

The world itself had taken on the same decrepit feel as the towns they had taken to exploring. The far off mountains were mountains, yet distorted somehow even from the great distance separating the host and the imposing formation of rock. Forests, what few that were, were more like a collection of graves of what they once were that no bird dared to enter, let alone a bijuu and his container. The soil beneath them was dry, too dry. Farming here would be a madman's dream. Even the air seemed to wish to depart this place and escape the burden of carrying a stench to which only Son Goku dared identify: death.

The atmosphere was even taking a toll on their arguments. Heated as they were, it served now only to stave off the oppressive feel of the world around them rather than to annoy or even interact with the other as the two wondered down yet another road in dwindling hopes of finding some form of company... for good or ill given the lack of any so far.

"Hey Son, how did those Keys of the Dark get into our world again?" Questions were the only activity to keep their minds free of the tyranny of morbidity, and it was the only thing that kept things lively for them... for Son Goku anyway.

"Like any great tale, it all starts with the greatest of all humans that have came and will come, the man we bijuu owe our existence to!" Even with his seal, Naruto could feel the waves of pride oozing off Son Goku when he was in the mood. "The Sage of the Six Paths!"

"It is he who the shinobi of all nations owe for giving them their understanding of what chakra is and how to use it! And it is he who brought with him our means to escape our imminent death! Where he came from is unknown to even one such as I, but I know he had used these artifacts to travel to our birth world to hunt down the creature which I originated from: the mighty Jubi! A being so great that even my arrogant brother cowers in fear of it!" Hoarse laughter echoed loudly enough for Naruto's ears to hurt, punctuated only by a soft muttering of "serves him him" when the laughter died down.

However something clicked in Naruto's mind. "Wait, wouldn't that mean he was from this place then before he came to ours?"

A moment of silence ensued before it was broken. "Would explain why he had the Keys..."

"So how did you know where I would find that kunai?" Naruto asked innocently, only to receive another chuckle from his bijuu. "In his infinite wisdom, he had tasked us to disperse his keys lest humans in their foolishness somehow learn to use them when they weren't in our stewardship."

The blond cleared his throat and made it a point to look all around him as he traveled towards what appeared to be another ruined town.

"To be fair it was over close to a thousand years ago when he died..." Son grumbled. Unfortunately this topic had been discussed before, and Son Goku knew not the answer to the question: "What would worry the Sage to have these keys scattered?"

There was no people. No community. Nor life... in abundence. The dead wind blew lazily past the boy as he neared the village of the world neither knew much about other than what they could see... a dying land was all that greeted the eye.

XVX

Ten minutes later, Abandoned house, Unnamed village

Naruto sighed as he munched on a nutrition bar. On a guess he determined he had at best only a week's worth of food left. His gaze shifted to the only other items packed into his emergency satchel . Scrolls, jutsu scrolls no less. Some were supplementary by nature: tree walking, body switching, henges... but the real prize was the elemental ones that he had accumulated at great risk, unfortunately the majority was fire scrolls with only two earth scrolls to his collection.

Lava was its own subject...

Finishing the last of the nutrition bar, Naruto the contented himself to curling up in a ball for warmth after making sure his assorted collection was accounted for and stored, minus one wrapper of course. What furniture there was in the house became too rotted to be comfortable, helped in part with the broken windows of the one story house in question. In comparison it was one of the nicer ones still standing.

Be it day or night, Naruto cared little as his eyes drooped in growing weariness.

XVX

"RUN FOR IT! GWAH!" The blond bolted upward and instinctively grabbed his bag of ill gotten gains as two more cries of pain rattled through the air, but that wasn't the worst of it. The killing intent now lingering in the air was palpable, malicious... _evil_. The metallic tang of blood slowly inserted itself in the air.

Cold sweat now drenched the blond as he slowly wandered to one of the broken windows to peek in on the outside world. A grimace was the closest ward to the rising urge to vomit from the heat of the will to murder and the scene now present to him.

One man, dressed in rich blood red armor of a samurai trimmed in gold, was a man of blackened skin holding aloft a sword dripping with blood. Before him stood the corpses of three men, the samurai's back blocking much of the view but none of the blood that pooled about. Without word the katana of the samurai was brought to the man's face, a feature not yet discernible to Naruto. "This continent without wars is none the less filled with fools. This meager few however is hardly fitting of me..." The sound of slurping forced Naruto the cringe and take a step back, only for his foot to betray him with the creaking of the weakened wooden floor.

The twitch of the samurai's arm was enough of a warning.

Skittering back, Naruto managed to dodge a potentially fatal slash that tore through wood and stone alike with the samurai in question now bearing a good look at the witness that happened on his act. The man grinned a demonic grin, bearing much resemblance to the demon face carved into the chest plate of his armor from the pointed teeth to his glowing crimson eyes that they shared. They both, armor and the man alike, hungered for carnage as their eyes gleamed with unholy glee. "A paltry addition, but welcomed nonetheless!"

Perhaps with the anger flooding him from being the target of another attack, or perhaps by the attack on his pride, Naruto angrily lashed out. "I'm not paltry you ugly bastard!"

Rage induced courage turned to cowardice upon the breaking of the only bearer between the demonic samurai and Naruto.

A new barrier replaced the old one with the quick slamming of the door leading to the outside, courtesy of a fleeing blond haired boy armed with only a satchel. "Get back here boy!" cackled the bloodthirsty man as he destroyed the already feeble barrier to find the boy had taken to the nearby wood of dead trees. His malicious grin only grew at the thrill of the chase.

Given a longer stride, and experience of other such runners, it was a matter of moments before the boy, temporarily lost from his view, was in his sights all the while continuing to gain distance between the two while rummaging through his bag in a panic. It mattered not for the sword being raised and the grin that grew more savage.

"Ah ha!" The boy whipped around and let loose a round spherical object which came straight at the red-eyed man... and exploded in his face.

"Argh! Damn you boy!" Charging out the of the smoke, the samurai snarled as he searched for his prey. His snarl increased tenfold upon finding the boy escaped...

Escaped to a tree now that his eye caught meager footprints leading to one of the dead trees, and now hangs from one of them. He wasted no time to charge the tree and climb it, the second act being much slower than he liked. It also distracted him enough that it took the yelling of his prey to capture his attention with the same snarl as before. "Oi ugly! Fire Release: Great Fireball!"

"Grah!" The demonic man was forced to let go unless he wished to be barbequed by a child who proceeded to cackle at his misfortune. "Ha! That's what you get for messing with-"

Naruto sniffed the air suddenly and adopted a frown. "Oi, what's burning?" He looked down at the spot he tried to burn the man in armor and gasped. "ACK! I SET THE TREE ON FIRE!"

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" bellowed Son Goku!

"YES I AM!" Naruto readily agreed without thinking as he yanked at his hair in panic!

"GET DOWN HERE SO I CAN GUT YOU!" roared the samurai as he tried to reach the child by hopping up from underneath with no luck whatsoever.

"NUTS TO YA!" screamed Naruto as he climbed the tree to escape not only the crazed man, the rapidly growing fire, and a sword sent hurtling in a failed attempt to skewer him which was promptly ignored in favor of the wildfire that chased him; the katana returned to the annoyed swordsman without note on Naruto's part.

Reaching near the top, Naruto saw no choice but to jump into another tree also beset by the crazed man who had taken to a different tactic: he was cutting the tree down at a horrific pace only lumberjacks would be jealous of. "Hey! Swords should break from that!" Naruto criticized from his roost before he tried to climb higher to escape the possessed man below. It only served to infuriate him further. Taking a step back the samurai held his blade back as he channeled malevolent energies which manifested in the blade itself, giving it the appearance of a living pillar shadow with bolts of dark crimson lightning illuminating the blade hidden underneath it for but milliseconds at a time and even then only specific spots. With a swing the purpose of this technique was made clear; no tree in front of him was spared for what may have been a quarter of a mile, each suffering from a clean cut to its base angled so that they would be claimed by gravity. Gravity did not fail to disappoint, accentuated so by the scream of the blond as he was taken for a ride with the tree that was his refuge for a time.

"AIEEEEEEEE!"

_Crash_!

Tree after tree fell, and the swordsman wasted no time to circumvent his target's tree to reach the boy as he lay dazed in a small patch of broken branches. Groggily Naruto sat up and tugged at his satchel to make sure it was still with him despite the clash, the madman's gleeful cackle acting as a powerful sobering agent to his delirium. He bolted the minute he could stand with his stash in tow with the man still in pursuit, albeit slowed by the protruding branches where Naruto's small frame proved a boon.

Had either taken the time to notice, the first tree which Naruto set ablaze, by accident on his part, had taken to becoming an inferno which brilliantly lit up its surroundings in a powerful roar. Like every other object which brightens up a scene be it living or benign, it attracted attention for good or ill.

The demonic samurai hacked his way through the dead limbs and made to chase the boy as he continued to flee from him. His katana once again raised to reap an intended kill. And a ball of blue and white leaping over him to cut him off from his soon-to-be victim. The samurai had to stop at that to stare down the newcomer with the ambiguous feelings of contempt and glee at the new prospect of resistance between him and his now distant prey. The slight shifting to the side at the cost of having his new foe tense up corrected the previous concept; he was now faced with resistance between his hidden prey.

"It figures that you're the cause of this carnage, Bishamon!" growled the woman before him, having drawn two sets, three if technical, of eyes upon her. From atop yet another tree branch sat Naruto as he curiously gazed on the odd woman before him. If it was a woman at least. He had to scoot further away from the tree itself to gain a better vantage point.

Her appearance was, for lack of a better word on Naruto's part, curious. She was lean and athletic, that was for certain given what could be considered as clothes were lines of white fur that etched themselves along her body, and only thickest at the most intimate parts of a woman's body though not by much. Her sky blue with a dark tone hair was not a matter for him given that he had seen other colors that would be considered unusual even if it was natural, such as orange hair, his own blond, and the grayed white of that one-eyed ninja, yet her other features marked her as something other than human for sure like the man she was facing against: cats ears, enlarged humanoid paws for hands, claws for feet, and a tail that moved reacted much to the world around it and angrily moved with her mood and body; all of which bearing the same white fur.

In any case he wasn't in the sights of anyone anymore, especially the demented samurai.

If the demon armored samurai had a response for the apparent "catwoman" he did not give it, instead he gave a battle cry and charged with his sword held horizontally at his side.

Meanwhile, as the catwoman rolled into a ball and charged forward long before the katana had a chance to slash at her, Naruto considered his options from his perch. He could simply escape between the bloodthirsty samurai and a complete stranger, no hair off his back. That actually left a bad taste in his mouth. He could stay and muster up sometime of reference for what he may encounter from this point with only misguided blows to worry about if push came to shove... of course he'd have to find some mouthwash to battle the growing foul taste. Of course he could help...

"Stupid conscience..." Naruto grumbled, during which he started molding his hands in seals.

The tree that was ablaze finally succumbed to the forces of physics and crashed into the ground by itself, a fact ignored by everyone present. Lashing out with a kick to his chest, the catwoman retreated from the swordsman to avoid yet another slash to catch her breath and glance at her bleeding arm courtesy of the one known as Bishamon. Her glare narrowed to slits as he came at her again with the ever present grin at the prospect of bloodshed and battle. "Hey ugly!" Gawking eyes and a infuriated scowl twisted themselves to the third party hidden in the tree, and it was the latter to identify him however minutely.

"So that's where you been hiding boy-"

"Lava Release: Molten Grave!"

A _stream_ of volcanic earth and fire spewed forth from the tree much to the shock of the catwoman who could only gape at the scene while her opponent possessed enough wit and calm to raise a measure of defense... his vambraces. Dull red lightning crackled between them just before the magma hit him and buried him in a mounting pile of superheated earth that grew to over twice of Bishamon's height, and double his width. The stream quickly dwindled to a small jet, and even then it was reduced to a retreating form of a spigot's water turned off only to reveal a small smoldering trail leading back to its source. The catwoman's ears twitched in curiosity as a weakened voice drifted with the small breeze, "Heh... and you said I couldn't nail it, old bastard..."

A body plummeted from the tree and landed in a solid thud with the catwoman as witness to it, any sign that the boy was still conscious wasn't made evident... though he was temporarily revived, if he unconscious that is, when a satchel dropped from the same tree and landed on his stomach with a small "oof!" on his part, with a forced reaction to rise as well, before he dropped back to the ground not to rise again any time soon. The feline lady couldn't help but smirk in amusement at that as she approached and inspected his health. Fingers were snapped by his ear, no reaction. An ear come over his chest, and a small smile tugged at the woman's lips upon finding a heart still beating albeit at a reduced rate. A pair of fingers carefully prodded the prone boy to confirm her suspicions, he tired himself out with whatever ability he performed.

"Felicia!" The blue haired catwoman stiffened and jolted her head to spot the one who called her name, it was another catwoman with her own fur gray and black who had come running from the depths of the woods. "The train's up and running and we're waiting for you!" she called out.

Risking a glance back at the small formation of still heated mass that coagulated around the demon samurai. Her gaze swiftly turned to the unconscious boy before her then back at the now cooling mass of rock before picking up the boy and his bag. "Lucy!" The other catwoman soon found herself holding a bag tossed to her by Felicia in mild confusion. What questions that arose in the gray and black feline's mind were stowed to the back of her mind with the passing of Felicia with the blond tucked away in her arms.

"Let's hurry... I don't wish to find out if Bishamon survived that."

XVX

**DARK TOME: Creatures**

**MainType:**** Bestial**

**Sub Type:**** Humanoid shifter (Meaning they can transform)**

Catwomen: The existence of a semi-human race called Catwomen was something shocking for humans. Although a huge panic did not occur right away; the loving look that they had soothed people's rejection to them. It also helped that Catwomen are generally positive and friendly towards other races. The look that people gave them was a look of interest in a rare animal instead of a monster until the hatred of all Darkstalkers arose, resulting in their persecution as well.

Situation wise, Catwomen are very adaptable, as much or more so then humans. Their social structure is pretty much the same as humans in that the group chooses who is to lead them. Their current leader is Felicia, due to her extensive experience with both humans and darkstalkers and her avocation of peace over conquest. As a strange side effect of her being their leader, they have developed an odd affection for the arts such as singing, dancing, painting, etc, and especially theater (Which in turn has caused a number of inside jokes relating to the musical Cats). Why this has happened no one is sure, but nobody really minds so it has never been looked into. They tend to be very territorial when they find a home and will protect it from any who seek to invade it.

The Catwomen race is born as normal human babies, but around the age of 4-10, they start to grow body hair, ears, and tails. And although there are individual differences, they have the ability to transform into normal looking cats in order to avoid attention. Their sense of smell is several thousand times that of a human. They use this sense of smell to find other Catwomen and darkstalkers. They also dislike sunlight and usually act at night like normal cats and darkstalkers.

As the name suggests, there are no men in the Catwomen race. There have been Catwomen who married human men, but their children have a 50/50 chance of being a Catwoman. To be exact, any females born will almost always become Catwomen while any males will be normal human males. If the male is a darkstalker, then the odds change drastically depending on type and power differences.


	3. Chapter 3

**The following characters and concepts found in this story belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**All Dark Tome entries are from the original author ****_Demonabyss_****, minus any entry marked with a asterisk (*), those are custom made and not found in the original story. At the very least I don't remember finding them in it... (Secretly hires an army of mercenaries for protection)**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 3: Catty reception

Prowler, Wasteland

Two days. Two days since Felicia of the tribe that made their home in the train convoy that was lead by the Prowler made the impromptu of the boy who managed to defeat Bishamon... or at least trapped in a makeshift prison of molten earth in a worst case scenario. It has also been two days since the aforementioned boy fell from a tree and had yet to wake from his exhaustion, or a coma if the case was such. It took one day for all self restraint to break in regards of the blond child's possessions in a name of overwhelming curiosity by the much younger generation of the catwomen tribe that lived on the Prowler.

An odd collection of knives were easily discovered alongside a raggedy collection of spare cloths, one spare set of his current garments as a quick assessment determined, nutrient bars, scrolls, and smoke bombs. The last set of items were discovered as such with the accidental dropping of one of them. Of the child's possessions only two things were of interest between the potential of aiding them and their uniqueness: Firstly is crystal knife that held much resemblance to the steel knife set of a blade, a handle, and a ring that was the butt of the weapons yet was adorned in unfamiliar etchings and a crimson cloth bound over the handle that felt far smoother than any cloth ever woven. Secondly, and more important of the two, were the scrolls containing arts not seen in humans to date ranging from switching places with people or objects in near instant speeds to breathing a ball of fire as well as manipulating the earth to act as a shield. Yet all things considered, these only added to the mystery that was their passenger.

The fact that Bishamon went after him was a nonissue since the demonic samurai has not been known to be picky about who or what it wanted to kill so long as blood was spilt in the end, it was what they didn't know about him that kept gnawing on the edge of their minds. Even with a sizable number of human cultures in their world, both past and present, no known culture produced these kinds of knives let alone something as unique as the crystal one. Even amongst darkhunters, manipulation of energies harnessed from the very body wasn't heard of. The closest that compared to the power known as "chakra," as mentioned by the scrolls, was magic and the powers granted by the training to use the affinities of the light or the dark, or even augmentation at the hands of a spark though a limited and admittedly stretched comparison.

There was at least one other detail which enflamed their desire to learn more of him: the boy had two scents. The scent of a human was familiar to any darkstalker in the world as they knew it, but monkeys weren't as common knowledge. It was discovered by accident while one of the catwomen tended to him for injuries. Whatever the reason, he bore the scent of something of significant power that was kin to a monkey as well as a human's scent.

However to their dismay, all questions were on hold till the boy woke up.

XVX

_Clack!_

_Clack!_

_Clack!_

_Clack!_

The steady beat was the first to great his senses as they finally came to a conscious level of Naruto Uzumaki. Even with his eyes closed he was able to discern a measure of his immediate environment: he was on a bed tucked beneath the covers, the bed itself was in a room that shook and vibrated with each rendition of the consistent clanking sound that was muffled as the source of the traveling sound lay beyond the walls, actually it came more from the floor to be precise. There was also two objects lying on top of his chest if the unusual weight was to be correct. Cracking his eyes and giving his surroundings a precursory glance he found himself in a room roughly about three times longer than his closet that seemed to be used as a makeshift bedroom meant for three people given the two extra beds before him. A window lay on the wall opposite to the one the beds were stacked against that permitted the scenery as it sped by much to the boy's puzzlement as well as the unsaid curiosity of the bijuu within him.

Finally his gaze came to the source of the weight on his chest, a pair of black kittens sporting a individual tuft of colored hair of red and blue to keep them being mistaken as one or the other. Both were staring at him with twinkling interest shining through bright amber eyes. Both also purred when Naruto slipped a hand out from under the sheets to scratch their backs and the top of their heads, the pair even pushing against the palm of his hand to encourage it act and even rubbing themselves against it.

With the sliding of the door the scratching session ended when the blond container's head achingly turned to look upon the trespasser to the scene in the car. He gawked slightly to find the same blue haired, white furred "catwoman" from before standing at the doorway with a tray of what was either food or possibly medication in her clutch, the small whiff of the weak smells emanating from the tray suggested it was the former. "Hey, good to see you're awake! Are you feeling better?" she asked with a soft smile lighten with a small dose of amusement when the child gave her a startled, shy wave that looked to be ran on hinges in need of some oiling in return for her greeting. No other reply was given. Not yet at least. "Cat got your tongue?" she playfully asked as she set the tray down on a nearby night stand sitting behind Naruto's bed not to mention the boy himself. Two groans from a pair of kittens were heard by the feline woman, three for Naruto as well as a mental image of his bijuu, a massive ape-like creature of four tails with flaming red hair and green tinted skin, with a pair of horns forming a small crown on his head before slopping upwards and ending at darkened tips, giving the joke a thumbs down with a partially blunt toothed frown. "Well excuse me for trying to lighten the mood," she lightly grouched before turning a pair of green cat cattish eyes on the kittens. "Now Lucy has been looking for you two, so you two better get going."

Pitiful mews arose from the pair in some un-worded begging to not leave. "Get!" the catwoman near-barked like a provoked mother ordering misbehaving children with a finger snapped to the door; a twitch accompanied her features when the pair stuck their tongues out at her before leaping off the boy and subsequently bolting out of the door. She let loose a brief sigh before turning to the slight confused boy, and by lesser extent a colossal monkey, with her returning gentle smile. "Now then I'm Felicia, and who are you if I may ask?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," he replied quietly as he tried to sit up with some labor on his part. Smiling warmly, Felicia reacquired the tray and presented it to the blond observing her all the while as discreetly as possible. She was obviously not hostile, at least not without a measure of provocation to entice her to becoming aggressive; if the red armored samurai acts before and after discovering Naruto was an indicator, she didn't attack the demented swordsman without reason. Nothing in the way she moved or looked at him suggested she was of a darker nature...

"I see no bananas," a certain bijuu grumbled.

His line of vision jerked to the tray of food presented to him. Its contents were slices of dried meat, possibly even jerky, and of shriveled vegetables such as carrots and turnips. Further evidence that the world they were in was not in the best of shape. Shriveled or not, dry or juicy, they were bound to be tastier than the nutrition bars he kept in the duffle bag. A bottle of water also rested on the tray. Of course there were no fruits offered... let alone bananas.

"You're obsessed!"

"I want bananas!"

Felicia simply smiled, unaware of a mental argument taking place inside the child's mind, as she simply offered the tray of edibles to him. "Two days out, there's no chance you aren't the least bit hungry," she commented. Her smile threatened to turn into a teasing grin when the stomach of her guest choose to agree with the implication. "Hold out for bananas brat!"

"Once again... You're obsessed!"

"You have ramen, I have bananas!"

With careful acceptance the tray was received by the blond... the food however was torn through with the abandon of a starving man. If Felicia was put off by this then her choice of a reaction was most peculiar in the form of a chuckle. "Seems you're appetite is just fine," she commented as she pulled out a stool from the same area as the nightstand was and proceeded to watch him as he finished off his meal as she considered her broaching of what lay on everyone's mind on the Prowler, sans a now satisfied child of course.

"So what exactly were you doing out there by yourself out there before Bishamon was after you?" the catwoman asked with genuine curiosity in a gentle tone. The boy turned to look at her with a tilt of the head as he asked his own question, "Who?" Now Felicia felt put off, yet her own mind considered the possibility that a child around Naruto's age wasn't as likely to know the big named ones such as Bishamon's unless forced to.

"I think she means the blood thirsting nutcase you buried in volcanic earth before you used up all your chakra you moronic brat," Son Goku grumbled once more.

"The moronic brat who pulled off a lava jutsu!"

"Bah..."

"He was the onyx skinned man with the red armor," Felicia finally replied.

"Oh... drifting." It was Felicia's turn to tilt her own head in puzzlement whereas Naruto's returned to its natural setting. "Drifting? But what about your home? Your family?" Concern easily dripped into her line of questioning as a small frown began to form, and grow when the child actually froze to _consider_ her question. "Never had one or any," he finally replied a bit coolly.

Her frown only steeped further as the implications manifested themselves into her mind: he was an orphan or at least alluded to it... from the way he answered, she could guess at the reasoning towards a life on the road. Runaway? Perhaps. Trouble from whatever town or village he hailed from? Most likely between his answer and the small collection of weaponry and smoke bombs; the crystallized knife may have even played a part in it. He certainly didn't carry the stench of blood unlike Bishamon who valued such a scent.

This was the utter definition of receiving more question than answers, and she only scratched the surface. Of course a new theory formed from all this, it was possible he was some variant of darkstalker she most likely never heard of which only added onto the assumption of being an orphan.

A mental flinch snapped through her mind as the sudden supposition that she may be over thinking things if the minor onset headache was to indicate anything.

Salvation was found when someone else, another catwoman of black and gray, pawed her way into the train car with a question at the ready. "Hey Felicia, have you seen the twins anywhere?"

"I sent them to you a few minutes ago," the first said with a cat-like groan with eyes drooped shut yet slowly pivoted to the other regardless. "Please tell me they didn't do something, Lucy," she half-heartedly begged.

The one identified as Lucy sighed as she rubbed the back of her head. "For one reason or another they let all the mimmoths loose. We managed to capture most of them but a few are still on the loose, I just came by to let you know about that." She turned to find the blond of mystery staring straight at her in curiosity. "Hey you're awake!" she exclaimed with a friendly paw offered to him. "I'm Lucy, what's yours?"

XVX

Four days later

Any edge in a decaying and maddened world that can be gained was an understandable need for those who still wished to live when set against implacable odds, a sentiment even Naruto understood when he had taken to theft over jutsu scrolls of the elemental nature while the basics were learned even by the most backwoods of shinobi culture and thus freely given to any who dared take up the blade. Of course no one had said certain edges couldn't be used for less serious tasks... such as tag for example.

"It!" A tanned child of a catwoman with blue hair turned about with an outstretched paw of a hand trying to snag the one that just tagged her only to find a small wood post to knock down in her overzealous attempt to tag the one that accosted her. "I got him!" shouted a similar catwoman with red hair instead as she pounced on Naruto only for 'Naruto' to poof into a roughed up sack full of cotton. Neither were deterred as they chased the laughing kid as he virtually teleported from one end of the train car to the other.

Felicia just smiled as she watched on from a crate. Though Naruto was still secretive in some aspects he had became more at ease around the catwomen, and it was from his ease that enabled her to learn more about him.

Case and point: what was common knowledge for the most mundane of citizens was earth shaking news to the blond. A little over a century ago a vampire of significant power and managed to plunge the world into an everlasting darkness, and life had adapted to its more dark conditions since then. Darkstalkers, the general term for nonhuman or a being of supernatural power, in general were often subject of persecution because of this.

Now whatever spell that held the sun at bay from the world beneath the clouds has started to dissipate in several parts of the world and it was gradually progressing, leaving a trail of death and destruction in the retreating cloud's wake as a result of years of crops, animals, and even some species that was still in the process of evolving to its nocturnal environment. As a more direct result the world reacted badly as several bands of humans and darkstalkers either united or gave into their more darker and bloodthirsty traits when the food grew scarce and supplies limited from the sudden reemergence of daylight. On a side note she had on more than one occasion caught Naruto by himself thus far with one of the newspapers they had collected over time as he perused with a faraway gaze that met paper.

Regardless, there were other little oddities she noticed about him: he could train till he dropped dead beat tired and be up and about the very next day. Any wounds inflicted upon him so far healed at a more rapid pace than recorded humans of the unaltered sort. He even had more stamina than an adult catwoman as he proven more than once...

Of course he had also proven he was by no means an expert in his craft. The most he has been able to teach them is how to collect and utilize chakra, and the only techniques he was _able_ to help them learn, successfully, was the body-switch technique known as Kawarimi and what he had called tree walking as demonstrated with him walking the length of the train car using the ceiling as his floor. In contrast he was incapable of performing of making a acceptable illusionary clone and his ability to shape shift known as Henge was still in the works...

The more elemental abilities, particularly involving fire, were a bit more disastrous between the burnt fur and the occasional burnt mouth.

The subject about his use lava had yet to be broached in the matter of training for obvious reasons... kunai were also slotted much like this only for a slightly differing set yet obvious reasons... paws like theirs aren't great for grasping such small handles.

Naruto had yet to truly delve into earth based techniques outside of the shield raising one, and hadn't had much of a chance to practice for his need to be on solid earth or stone ground to wield such a technique.

In any event, given Naruto's lack of any real aid as to help them master his limited reserve of techniques, made even more difficult considering that they were developed by and meant for humans, everyone interested in the practice of the abilities had turned to Felicia for help. In her desperation, and a little prompting from teasing friends, she managed to produce one name to sate the mounting call for help.

A strange blending of a groan and a muted laugh escaped her every time now as she thought of the possible revenge she would have incurred for unleashing a trio of kids alongside a slightly more lethargic crowd of catwomen upon him, upon Jon Talbain.

Or "Uncle Jon" as a pair of kittens have taken to calling him.

XVX

"Night"

With an image of a colossal ape-like monkey feasting upon a banana haunting his mind, partially because he went out of his way to get one to snack on, Naruto once again tucked himself into a relatively dark corner of a train car with a slightly rumpled news paper depicting of a gathering of the more peaceful darkstalker tribes and darkhunters. No solution was in sight, or even dared hinted from what he found.

A lone finger gently groped the ring of a crystal kunai as the thought of leaving was made more of a fact than a thought, but a question remained.

Will he and Son Goku go back by themselves, or with company?

XVX

**DARK TOME: Creatures**

**Main Type****: Experiment**

**Sub Type:**** Biological (Created through genetic type experimentation/manipulation)**

**Mimmoths:** Mimmoths were originally an experiment created by a Spark (also known as Gifted or in a less polite term a Mad girl / Mad boy. To be defined in a later entry.) However they escaped and now cover a good part of the country. They are tiny vermin-like mammoths, about the size of mice. They fill the same niche as mice and tend to live along side them. However, they have the capability to do more damage then mice in that instead of eating food and spreading disease, they destroy machines from the inside out. They push and damage things with their tusks, unhinging or damaging connections that cause the machine to fall apart. As a result they are zealously hunted in any area with important or heavy machines nearby.

Oddly enough, mimmoths have been found to be a tasty snack by many when cooked right. Mimmoth on a stick is quite popular at fairs and similar events. Many groups keep them for that very purpose despite the possible danger/annoyance they pose. Some darkstalkers have been known to eat them raw and/or whole and/or still alive much to the disgust of most humans. Catwomen have been the most well known to keep them since they're so much like mice and in their opinion taste better (and they would know).

**A/N: A poll is now being held, ye who reads this tale of a alternate Atum-Coma!**

**I have already plotted a story arc and I find room that would permit a sensible (or slightly sensible) side story which Naruto obtains a summoning contract. Choices are up and about and here are two spoilers for your perusal.**

**_Poll Spoilers:_**** Fire Monkeys are the re-skinned versions of monkeys with a more ape-like appearance like Son Goku with actual apes mixed in. Toads will be obtains via the canon method (Chunin Exams).**

**For those who vote the option containing "Other":**** Your votes WILL be ignored if you do not leave some form of notice (be it a PM or a review) with your vote.**

**Hope you have enjoyed the chapter! Voting will end on February 16, 2013.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	4. Chapter 4

**The following characters and concepts found in this story belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**All Dark Tome entries are from the original author ****_Demonabyss_****, minus any entry marked with a asterisk (*), those are custom made and not found in the original story. At the very least I don't remember finding them in it... (Secretly hires an army of mercenaries for protection)**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 4: Of cats, dogs, and a monkey

Unknown town, a week later

The Prowler had long since came to rest at the edge of one of the hundreds of ghost towns that made up the world now, it's history long forgotten under the dust of the dead and the forced neglect. What signs there were of the townsfolk were only marked in more ancient remnants of battles that had taken place in and around the town, the reasoning for the battles have long since been known only to the dead or the long since missing victors.

It mattered little to the band of travelers that had taken refuge in the still standing buildings since the train underwent much needed maintenance brought on by too few periods of rest. Yet there was another purpose to this stop as Naruto had learned from Felicia. This abandoned town wasn't only being used solely for convenience but it was a rendezvous point as well another tribe of darkstalkers led by an old... friend of Felicia; the catwomen were to meet up with the werewolves, led by Jon Talbain.

So between the maintenance and the awaiting of their allies, anyone who wasn't either savvy with engineering or listed as a guard that was on duty were free to pursue their own interests to pass the time; the most popular activity for the time being was scavenging for any at all useful materials to improve current living conditions of the makeshift camp the deserted town played host to or to add to their mildly meager stores in the form of food, weapons, or even literature. The train by far held the greatest progress between the scavenger parties whose greatest yields were no greater than worn furniture for the improvised apartments. It was just another sign of the times of a dying world.

From atop a decrepit roof of a two story building, Naruto sighed as he observed the desolate, wretched landscape that seemed commonplace for the entire world where woodland and grass once dominated the region while in the company of Ria and Mia in their kitten forms, both were being treated to the latest scratching session. Be it out of charity, pity, or perhaps the growing fondness of his company, the container had long since made up his mind in what to do. The question, or rather questions, however changed.

How was he to broach this? How was he to bring up or mention the possibility to escape through the key he carried with him? Should this particular act be done before they arrive at the conference of the collective darkstalker tribes, darkhunters, and humans? Even then, would there be a significant risk of the key giving out under the strain of what would be doubtlessly numerous openings of the portal that connecting his world and theirs?

Son Goku certainly gave no help in any manner in answering these questions.

Fortunately, for the sake of Naruto's mounting headache, these yet to be answered questions were cast out as thunder rolled through the surrounding plains... A set of ears twitched and strained at a revelation of the growing din; there was not a flash of lightning in the overcast sky, and this thunder only grew. Swiveling heads turned left to right before they spotted the source partially hidden by a dust cloud by the numerous claws that made it in their approach.

Werewolves by the dozens with a number of them hidden by the smokescreen made by their advance on all fours. A counter rumble arose quickly from the town behind them and out burst a sizable number of catwomen in their own similar approach to the horde that was barreling towards the town. Three pairs of eyes quickly caught the recognizable mane of Felicia as she headed the pack of cats; even with the rapidly growing distance, Naruto could swear he saw a smirk or even a smile on the catwoman's face.

The advancing groups slowed to an amiable crawl, and even then did they straightened up to walk upright, save for a pair made up from both tribes. Or more accurately the apparent leader, marked by predominately blue then white fur, slowed down to an upright walk while Felicia kept her pace. It was only a matter of moments before the two collided in a haphazard hug due to the latter launching herself at the former yet no frown, no distinction of any dissatisfaction was made evident on either side in both mass and individual; even from a distance, Naruto can make out what could be a smile... on canine features. Two individually colored tufts turned alongside the eyes they were accompanied by the eyes belonging to the same pair of head twisted to the only human in their company when the hand that absent mindedly scratched them pleasantly halted, and their only hint to the sudden change was the equally quick jerking of the werewolf's head in their direction when the wind shifted.

XVX

"Even after all this time you have yet to change," Jon Talbain near growled thanks to his wolfish background, though even if he did growl it wasn't with a hint of aggression or annoyance. "Aw, why would I want to change?" Felicia whined in a half hearted challenge while the other half lied in her amusement. A smile crept upon his face only to vanish after a minute as a new topic came to mind.

"Who is that blond human that was lurking amongst the rooftops?" he asked lowly as to draw little attention from those they passed in the burgeoning camp of darkstalkers. He didn't need to look over his shoulder to confirm the feeling that he was being watched by the boy in question do to years of experience in both the civilized world and the wilds. Stalking, even observation, remained the same wherever her went.

A flicker of a grimace made itself known in the corner of the werewolf's eye before it remained under the carefree, ever smiling mask of Felicia. "I take it there's something strange with him?" he asked in the same mutter as before. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki, had he's been with us for the past two weeks. He's been helpful where he can with these interesting techniques he let us learn, but the only real problems with him is that he's not very talkative about his past and the fact that..." A pause was given as she struggled to find the right words as they entered one of the many buildings fixed up into a livable living quarters for the camp. Decorations and furniture were sparse and obviously scavenged from the town itself as marked with the age, weathering, and slight scuffing from improper or accident prone handling.

"We're not exactly sure _what_ he is," she continued as they entered what was her apartment and immediately made her way to a working sink. "Drink?" she offered politely as she opened a cupboard and retrieved a clean glass. Her intended actions were not marred when a hand politely waved off the question as made evident with the cup brought underneath the now open faucet, during which Jon had taken to a seat.

"At a glance I could swear he is a ordinary human yet if you get a good whiff of him, you would get a second more simian scent that mingles in with his own..." She stopped as she noticed her company staring at her curiously. "Uh... yes?" Snapping his head out of whatever trance he was in, the werewolf gave her the best apologetic, sheepish grin he could give for the occasion. "Sorry, just I didn't think you were the type to use big words."

Cat-like eyes narrowed to annoyed slits. "Are you saying I'm an airhead?"

"Well attempting to sacrifice yourself for a village during the Hutzil invasion-"

A decisive "hmmph!" cut him off as she briskly took to her drink of water with both eyes clenched indignantly while the only other pair rolled in exasperation.

"I had given thought of him being a half-breed or perhaps under some kind of possession; nothing matches up as far as scent and signs are concerned," she continued after a brief sigh following her quenched thirst. "From what I can tell he's an orphan from... somewhere. Wherever he came from he doesn't seem to be on good terms with," she paused once more as her sight became distant in consideration. She held onto both the silence and her apparent thought as she settled herself into a spare chair.

"To be honest I'm convinced he's some kind of darkstalker with what I know of him: he can recover far quicker from both exhaustion and injury far quicker than any human or even catwoman I know of. He has stamina far greater than anyone in the tribe and possibly even yourself I would wager. And as I mentioned, he doesn't discuss much about his past; it seems though that the majority of where he came from held some... serious issues with him that prompted him to find better luck in the wastelands than there."

If there was a response to be given by Jon, he didn't give anything more verbal than silence.

"So how exactly has he been helping you?" he asked suddenly, more than likely to change the topic.

A smile flirted its way back on the catwoman's lips. "Another thing that just adds to the mystery of our blond monkey-boy. He has these scrolls about this big," he paws, circled up in ball save for the index of each hand held out and spaced to a little less than a foot in length, "containing these odd techniques developed by a human culture we have yet to learn of. They have all sorts of things such as breathing fire, using the very ground as a shield, and even creating actual copies of yourself out of dirt and pure illusion!" Her smile twitched however for some unspoken reason, and it was enough to alert Jon to the oncoming request that was undoubtedly to come.

"You know, now that you're here-"

"No."

"You could at least hear me out! It's nonlethal too, I swear!"

Annoyed eyes narrowed in their own form of acquaintance to hearing her out, a move which she easily picked up on if the bright smile was any indication.

"While Naruto helped us where he can, could you please help the girls and kittens out in their training?" Her hands cupped against each other and her eyes seemingly doubled in size with a slight quivering to accentuate the image of cuteness she radiated, comparable to a kitten mewing for a saucer of milk... or a little girl asking her father for something she _absolutely_ desired.

Jon's teeth ground against each other as his iron will creaked under the assault of feline cuteness. He even turned his head in hopes of outlasting the aura emanating from the sky blue haired woman!

"Pweeeeaaase?" she asked all too sweetly...

In his mind he cursed Felicia and her "Kitten Face(*)" technique. "Heart string plucking, manipulative fur ball," he muttered lowly.

Felicia just smiled, her technique broken, as she replied back teasingly. "I love you too, Jon."

XVX

Four days later

The Prowler was still under maintenance with its earliest projecting functioning time being in the 'afternoon' of the day after today.

With that said, the only small blessing Jon Talbain had in his favor was that the training of fire based jutsus had to be suspended due to the almost nonexistent supply of ointments to treat burns. The smell of burnt fur, allegedly not as bad as it used to be with now decreased overloading and even improper execution of the mentioned elemental jutsus involved, only added onto his reasons to avoid that particular practice for the time being.

The art of jutsu was without a doubt strange to him, yet not above let alone below his ability to help out those who wished to learn the arts for what practical means that could be garnered from considerably odd techniques... even by a darkstalker's standards.

There was certainly a distinct advantage in the use of solid clones made from dirt, or more preferably mud for molding purposes for those who lacked the energy or patience, in both distracting the enemy and gaining an ally in the fight; switching places with the clone was a benefit unto itself.

Which of course brought to bear the other styles of jutsu, namely the ones solely related to chakra and its elemental counterpart of earth. Raising shields made from compacted earth was undoubtedly a skill most would love to have when their backs to the wall... what he least suspected was a offensive nature to the technique for the unsuspecting, much like himself.

"Get me down!" Jon's cry for help was hampered slightly by the roaring laughter of a certain blond, caster of the blunted earthen spike the nerve charged werewolf clung to for dear life despite having been place in much more dangerous scenarios by either his design or the will of others, who didn't stand alone in his amusement as other darkstalkers were made jovial at the ridiculousness of it all.

"He does know that he can jump down right?" one werewolf whispered to another.

"Shhh! I want to enjoy this while it lasts!"

"Felicia? Guys? Anybody?!"

XVX

Twenty-four minutes later

Perturbed slightly, miffed from sheer embarrassment of his normally calm and collected senses having taken a leave of absence, and slightly jumpy, Jon Talbain had taken to the sanctuary of the rooftops while he observed Naruto who was in turn observing anyone who had taken to running on all fours. Despite the earlier incident brought on by the same child he had his eye on, he was not so crossed as to deny him whatever help he needed... within reason of course. If anything, outside of a lingering vexation, he was intrigued with a proposed... 'jutsu' if one dared called it, more from the more recently learned fact that chakra has the ability to heighten the senses of the power as well as more natural abilities such as jumping, that Naruto was in the process of developing.

It was flattering in a way under the concept that a human, however debatable that was at this point, was knowingly mimicking traits of humanoid darkstalkers, inspired by seeing both the werewolves and catwomen running no less. It only made him feel a bit more fuzzy on the inside to have learned through the idle slip of a tongue from the child that there was a clan of humans whom have developed a fighting style dedicated to work in conjunction of specially trained attack dogs; they were not wolves but it was close enough to be considered flattering in its own right to the more feral side of Jon Talbain.

Naruto's choice of a animalistic run however had nothing to do with that of canines or felines, nor of any known animal variant that had a loose association with the two. In short, he had taken to naming his work in progress as "Monkey Run." Its only requirements was to observe others to develop a base for the intended movements, and a spotter to pick out and pick apart any at all faults.

This method so far had been no older than three days, and the only thing new so far were a pair of goggles pillaged from one of the abandoned stores.

From another rooftop, a pair of twin but clashing colored heads observed Naruto as well as he adjusted the goggles and got into position. Their furred bodies garmented in the regalia of a race track announcer, their curious choice in clothing where none was needed was only given depth when a small crowd of darkstalkers gathered below with a mixed view of the now stretching 'human' with a radia standing tall on a table threatening to collapse from rust and lack of treatment.

Without precedent, the radio cracked to life. "It's a wonderful day for this kind of thing, wouldn't you say so Mia?" came the cheery voice of one of the twins.

"I would say so Ria, now what do we have here?"

"We once again have Naruto in the midst of stretching to prepare for his new jutsu!"

"That's right! His personal best as it stands is a grand total of twenty feet, possibly even more!"

"In centimeters."

"In any case he's- oh there he goes!"

"It's a dead sprint! What has he cleared, six? Ten feet already?"

"I can't really tell from here..."

"You know, he looks more like an ape from here than a monkey."

"And he just took a spill! He's going to be tasting dirt well into tomorrow's breakfast! You don't suppose it's because of us do you?"

"I don't think so... Wait... oh now he's being rude," one of the twins huffed indignantly.

Away from the microphone that the twins somehow converted to their own use, one of the twins shouted at the top of her lungs. "Felicia! Naruto's gesturing that he's going to take us down with primal fury again!"

"You probably deserve it!" Felicia shouted from wherever she was, amusement evident despite the volume.

"That's just mean Mama Felicia!" one of the twins pitifully mewed into the microphone.

More than one snicker arose from the crowd.

XVX

Abandoned road

Be it for evil or benign, forces gathered in droves either out of the instinctual need to survive, the thirst for battle and one last source of entertainment if a world with no foreseeable future for their kind, or in some way tried to improve their standing in the bleak times by dominion or communion. Whatever the reason, they always attracted the attention of the desperate and those with a darker will than the standing force.

The peace talks was no exception to either rule though the desperate fitted them in definition far better than any straggler that stumbled onto them. With a dying world, normal threats in a relatively civil society were neutralized by the need to live on; an army's worth of hunters of the dark had long since sided with those they would otherwise call an enemy or prey and vice versa by occupation alone. However there were always the mavericks under the laws of probability.

No single reason could describe the few hunters that continued their career in these horrid times: some continued out of vengeance, a naive hope that the world would correct itself, and a few... only hunted for the sport of it.

For those aware of names and the details associated with them, any fool would recognize the form of Baby Boney Hood, aka Red Riding Hood, aka Bulleta as she strolled with blithe obliviousness to her surroundings with no greater concern than to recite a hummed tune properly. No one truly knew what motivated her, they only knew that she enjoyed what she did with a passion.

If it wasn't for her reputation, no other eye than the devious one searching for a good time would have paid attention to the golden haired, blue eyed woman of possibly eighteen dressed like a character of an archaic in a children's story; dressed in nothing but a red dress that went to her knees adorned with a white apron, a red hooded cloak, an red shoes. A basket covered in a frilled cloth only added to the near duplicate appearance.

Had any fool been gifted savvy understanding of the roads and surrounding events, they would've know her destination without asking her or else risk themselves to the peril that was Bulleta.

XVX

**DARK TOME: Creatures**

**Main Type:**** Bestial**

**Sub Type:**** Shifter**

**Werewolves:** In popular folklore, a man who is transformed, or who transforms himself, into a wolf in nature and appearance under the influence of a full moon. The Werewolf is only active at night and during that period he devours infants and corpses. According to legend, Werewolves can be killed by silver objects such as silver arrows and silver bullets. When a Werewolf dies he is returned to his human form.

In truth, werewolves can transform at any time with proper guidance, however under the full moon a werewolf is forced to transform as their wolf instincts flare up at the sight of the moon. Also, because they can control their transformation, usually, they can be active during the daytime, though like most darkstalkers they prefer the night. They do not feed on corpses or infants; that is just propaganda and superstition. However, the legend of silver objects being lethal to werewolves is correct, but only if it gets into their blood stream. Otherwise only prolonged contact with it can do any serious damage. Wolf's bane has been known to have similar, if far less lethal, effects on werewolves. The legend of becoming a werewolf due to a bite is only partially true. What is truly needed is a blood transfer of some type in order for that to happen. Even more so is the fact that the blood must be compatible much like a normal blood transfusion. If not, depending on whom it is transferred into, it will disperse harmlessly (darkstalkers) or it will poison them causing incredible pain before death (humans).

Werewolves, despite their human forms, have a harder time of blending into society then catwomen. Due to the fact that their human and bestial natures as less blended than catwomen, it's harder for them to balance them and keep their bestial instinct under control. Their instinct becomes harder to repress the longer they have to keep it in, especially under a full moon. This is why occurrences of werewolf attacks happen mostly in cities or crowded areas where there is no place safe and or private for them to release it. They can travel in packs or on their own, depending on the situation. Like catwomen, they choose their leaders, though unlike them it is less like a democracy and based more on strength. Recently, Jon Talbain has been given the role of leader and as a result has stopped the majority of hostilities towards humans. However, not everyone is happy with this.

**A/N: (*) Another technique belonging to the original author.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	5. Chapter 5

**The following characters and concepts found in this story belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**All Dark Tome entries are from the original author _Demonabyss_, minus any entry marked with a asterisk (*), those are custom made and not found in the original story. At the very least I don't remember finding them in it... (Secretly hires an army of mercenaries for protection)**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 5: Heating up, an answer found

Junction

Even with the passage of time of a few days to let it all sink in, Naruto, and by a far lesser extent Son Goku, couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with the mishmash of cultures and sentient creatures that have come for the talks. Humanoids either animalistic in features or otherwise, mechanical creations, the living dead, and even plants bearing human features. Humans were there as well though their garb had long since marked them as... abnormal to anyone else. Monks, priests, people in more fanciful clothing of the west and what gadgets that ended up attached to them, masked sorcerers, armored adventurers... there was no set standard even amongst the pockets of more set appearances!

What merchandise there was by vendors lucky enough to claim a spot were also varied from weapons to cooking utensils. Books to scrolls. Mechanical parts to hands in a jar! Naruto had to do a double take and a fair bit of poking at the glass to ensure that one wasn't a concoction of a careless eye tricked into seeing something else, much to the annoyance of the merchants of course; the twins only aggravated things further with their own insistence to "learn the truth" via 'inspecting' in the same manner as well as nabbing small items like charms only to return them at a later date.

Regardless of it all, there was little else to do than meander the streets since arriving in the Prowler with Felicia, Jon, and everyone else for that matter; training was limited at best given the meetings that now ate up the two tribal leader's time where it once was almost dedicated to improving the otherwise flawed methods of teaching, there was no chance for scavenging given the influx of population density that now occupied the town and what it entailed, and at the very most, if one was truly desperate in finding something to do, the closest to repair work on the train that was their home was to rearrange what furniture there was and fix what loose wiring that could be found. There was little to do, and what plots for subtlety regarding the Key were either dead in the water given the commonalty of the Keys by comparison to his own world and their equally commonly used function.

As much as he, and even Son Goku, liked attention (preferably nonnegative in nature), there were indeed limits and boundaries to that pleasure in certain circumstances; coming across as the equivalent to a god sent savior certainly didn't sit well with either of them. With that said, broaching the subject of a Key of the Dark capable of going to another world of humans more than capable of supporting life, a stark contrast of the world as they knew it, was going to be tricky while maintaining some semblance of pride in the matter.

Until an answer could be found however, the container, his forced charge, and the unsuspecting company the former kept could only content themselves with the wonders that could still be provided.

XVX

Town Hall

Felicia had to stifle a groan, a yawn, and growl all at once as her eyes struggled to hide the fact she was leaning ever so closer to lying her head against the table and taking a nap on the spot. A glance toward Jon told her of a fairly similar story happening with the leader of the werewolf tribe residing in Junction.

Yet she willed herself on to listen to the most current idea being tossed around brought on by Agatha and Gilgamesh Heterodyne-Wulfenbach, overall leaders of the human population as far as the talks were concerned and sparks of high caliber; their idea consisted of pooling what resources were left and constructing a device to jumpstart an ecosystem in one of the more recently 'uncovered' areas of the world, where the shade had no sway with the retreat of the dark covers that was their world. Unfortunately even the less gifted in terms of intelligence could tell it was a gamble, and neither spark could even convince themselves that the chances of success were worth the risks; merely mentioning it was comparable to hearing someone who had given up hope talk about a failed invention built for an aspired dream.

The only other amiable idea under the conditions they have to live by on a day-to-day basis was to live as a community, sparing gathering and using what was left of the world. Or at worst turn themselves into a pirate nation as the current representative of the undead, Zabel Raptor, remarked with a grin, whether he was joking or not was beyond the committee as it stood now.

In any case, it was depressing and draining the normally spontaneous and enduring energy of the catwoman, Jon, and a small handful of others whether they admit it or not.

"If only we had a key or something to get out of here," she quietly whined.

XVX

'Market'

_"Achoo!"_

"Bless," one twin started.

"You," the other finished.

Lucy only gave a snort, though in all likelihood wasn't aimed at the child as her eyes drifted in and out of the ever shifting crowds and stalls alike with only a glance spared to them to ensure they were together and more importantly alright.

_BOOM!_

It was the need to protect them that her alert gaze twisted to them upon the resounding explosion before darted about to find the cause. She was not alone in that endeavor, until the smoke arose from a building that was already missing a wall at least. The group's curiosity was piqued when the drifters went about their business as usual without a second glance wasted upon the supposed source, and as such the dared to investigate with the intent to discover not only the cause of the explosion but the apparent apathy as well.

Out of the four of them, only Lucy had a hunch as to why no one was particularly concerned and her one clue as to it all, outside of the smoke that is, was that everyone tends to panic when such an event occurred seemingly at random. The only reason that no one panicked was that not only was this routine, but they most likely knew the cause of it already... if she was correct, then she too knew the cause as well.

Her suspicions only became more and more solidified as they approached and were rewarded with the sounds of heavy coughing of at least more than one adult and a child that were caught in the aftermath that was the smoke if not the direct, most likely nonlethal if they were caught in it, blast at least. The occupants, current if not long term as far as the supposed duration of the talks was concerned, of the building indeed were a pair of adults and a child. The adults were noticeably larger than most humans and stockier to boot with the male, sporting a red closed coat and messy but short black hair, possibly large enough to accidently block off an entire doorway regardless of intention while his accomplice in age was a woman of equal height that lacked not only the same exact stature but her own hair was a lengthy auburn hair as opposed to her male companion; they only chief similarity they had, outside of height, was the apparent red buttoned coat and military styled pants and boots that they wore.

As for the child in their company, his own hair was dirty blond, his eyes a bright green, and his own clothes marked him as a noble of some kind that had more recent exploits in not only the tinkerer's field but the wasteland itself as of late. His face was marked with a scowl of disappointment, its origin only known to his company while he half heartedly tugged at a chained golden locket fashioned into a trilobite. "Can I please take this off, Aunt Judy?" he asked pleasantly yet distractedly as he stared dead ahead at a chalkboard containing equations and scribbled notes, though his tone was underlined with a growl however by whatever vexed him.

"You know well enough your mother will through a fit and a wrench at you and everyone involved if it comes off," the woman replied with a soft smile. "Just bear with it a little longer, you know you're parents are just worried of what could happen to you if you take it off too soon. You're breakthrough was just a year ago after all." With a small jerk of the head, her gaze quickly became settled on the those who investigated the blast. "Seems you're experiment has attracted some attention," she remarked with a greeting smile and wave.

XVX

Town Hall

"Ugh..." a brown haired man garbed in otherwise well kept regal clothing groaned as he leaned forward, elbows resting on the table that separated all the leaders, and rubbed his temples vigorously. "At times Mr. Raptor, I keep wondering as to _how_ you got here," he muttered loudly.

From across the way, a light blue skinned zombie, with the entire area that would be the stomach now missing and rowed with a few fangs, with spiked royal purple hair grinned despite his grinning skull-like face. "Ah, am I gettin' on your nerves Gilly?"

The man, Gilgamesh Heterodyne-Wulfenbach, muttered something unintelligible with clenched eyes while his bright blond haired wife sympathetically patted his back in a mild attempt to soothe his aggravated woe.

XVX

'Market'

Leon Heterodyne-Wulfenbach, son of the wedded Agatha Heterodyne and Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, was insatiable to say the least. Then again he was upset with his recent failure, and as Judy had stated, sought to alleviate his troubles with questions to distract himself. Given that the use of chakra, a newfound discovery leaked from the werewolf/catwomen camp, was an overall mystery to darkstalker, darkhunter, and human alike it was only inevitable someone was going to ask. That expectation was unfortunately more prepared for someone who had a need to breath.

"Why is it necessary to mold chakra with the use of hands signs? Is there a certain limit to chakra or is there no set limit to it? Is there any merchants you know of that sell these "jutsu" scrolls?"

Judy's whispered warning of how unbearable an upset Leon was the only thing that made it in the very least tolerable for the main recipient of Leon's questions. Unfortunately that did not make things easier when Son Goku's only defense in hopes of ignoring the Spark was to sing... in his preferred fashion.

"There ain't no sunshine when she's gone..."

"Where do you keep getting these songs?!"

"I existed _long_ before the first of your "Hidden villages" were even thought of, are you truly surprised I had built a repertoire of songs over the years?!"

"Nuts to ya!"

"-they related? What steps is Jon Talbain taking to refining the jutsu training? How many elemental types are there?"

From a few steps behind the traveling pair, Lucy adopted a strained smile while two kittens, whom would normally perch themselves on top of Naruto's shoulders, groaned. "He does know he's not really leaving room for anyone to even contemplate on answering a question, does he?"

A worn chuckle emerged from the woman at her side. "I'll admit, it does get tiring really fast. Unfortunately it's his only method to relieve stress outside of working him to death. Hopefully he'll grow out of it long before we learn if it's some kind of side effect from the dampener or not."

A shy chuckle came as a reply from the catwoman. "If you don't mind me asking, how long does this usually last?"

"At worst half an hour..."

"Ugh..." The catwomen closed her eyes and shook her head out of pity for Naruto as he withstood the myriad of questions to the best of his now battered ability if the glazed eyes and subtle twitching was an indicator... unknown arguments held within the blond not withstanding of course. Her eyes however flew open and the dynamic raising of the hair and hissing that had caught everyone's befuddled attention.

Her reasoning however presented itself far too late for a warning to arise. A diminutive metal ball, harmlessly bouncing along the ground from above, gave off a high pitched beep before unleashing its contents consisting of a dark green gas that enveloped the boys in its epicenter while it spread out in search of new victims. It was not alone in its endeavor as several canisters belching smoke and some even the same gas as before made themselves present to sow chaos into the crowds.

Many panicked, however uncharacteristic of the person and creature they were, and fled to assess the situation as it stood if not outright flee. Those caught by the gas however, were rendered unconscious... and Lucy was not an exception to that evident rule nor was Lucy, her husband by the name of Punch, nor the kittens that received a whiff from the substance.

XVX

Medical Center, an hour later

To anyone else the crisp cry of "She's awake!" rang out as clearly as a electrical spark shines brilliantly in the darkness. However for Lucy, it was muddled as she was revived from her coerced slumber and her vision was found blurred; both cleared in time. As her vision returned she was greeted with the sight of the only catwoman she knew of bearing Felicia's appearance had she aged a little more, gained height, and wore her bright blue hair in a pony tail: Grace.

"Lucy? Lucy! Do you know what happened and who done it? Do you see anyone take Naruto away?" Grace sternly asked with trepidation, panic only held at bay by a hair's breath.

The other catwomen opened her mouth to speak, but no recognized word escaped her other than a hoarse whisper. She tried again and the result yielded the same results yet with enough strength to be heard. A third time came, with Grace lending her a close ear, and a name came. A name that no one who now resided in Junction wanted to hear amongst others of such dreaded caliber.

"Bulleta."

XVX

Abandoned Church

Dense stone walls were no buffer to the sound of the wind nor of what alarms of a town made aware of an enemy when there were openings in what would normally be a barrier. Rotted wood and years of neglect made sure of that to the entire structure that small, jagged sections of the wall went missing and the floor of what would normally be a room for both prayer and sermons was pitted; entire chunks, presumably fallen, of floor revealed a chamber wreathed in shadows underneath the once house of worship that awaited only a torch to banish the darkness within it. Least of all the once religious windows gave way to the elements much like its hewn rock surroundings.

Had it not been abandoned long before the events of the world as it stood, one would dare consider it but another testament of a dying world.

Now once holy house stood as a crumbling shadow of its former self and home to any vagrant that sought shelter from the elements both sentient and mindless alike by nature. Between the lack of any more... complete structures and the undoubtedly heightened security in town, the former church was as ideal as can be under the current circumstances for a certain darkhunter.

Getting into and out of town was by no means easy, but with the droves of humans coming in and the chaos she carved there was little significance a lone human held to peacekeepers that rushed in to maintain order; a woman carrying what could be presumed her injured child or at most her little brother away from the scene certainly raised no suspicion from any who would've spotted her... provided they didn't know the boy in question. Her only impediment of her journey was the additional wait and frenzied bystanders.

The traps have been set. Weapons were given a last minute check for their respective ammunition and maintenance. Lastly the bait had been placed. Now all that was left for the young woman dressed , and nicknamed, like her childlike namesake was to play the waiting game while eying the apparent human child tied to a chair.

He was a miraculous find for her. For a good while her thoughts have been flirting with the idea of kidnapping the child of the Sparks to draw out some kind of prey to get the drop on; most likely incurring the wrath of _humans_, highly intelligent ones at that, which one of whom was not only the mother but also the only known human, outside of her son, that had a loyal army of Jägermonsters at her call certainly drove away the appeal to the act. Other potential victims much like Leon in age were far out of her reach unless she wished to fight her would be opponents on their terms... but then came a radical new face that held enough connections to not one but two of the leaders present at the talks to certainly draw their attention, and the lack of a guard was just icing on the cake for Baby Boney Hood.

A smirk came across her lips as an idle thought struck her, "What if Jon Talbain didn't come?" If the rumors were in any way true then chances were favorable in saying that he would come at the behest of Felicia, catwomen aren't known to typically abandon those they care about if experience was to say in the matter. It was also rumored that the werewolf's known... disdain for humankind had lessened as of late, though that could be attributed between his friendship of the leader of the catwomen and of recent times both ecologically disastrous and benign if the alleged company of the boy was to prove anything.

At the very least, if her hopes had been proven wrong, she would most likely face only the catwoman. Surely someone in her tribe formed a bond with the child, and who better to send than a known human lover as it were... either way, Bulleta would be walking away with some kind of prize.

Her slender hand gently stroked an uzi that only awaited to be put to use.

XVX

Outdoors

Between the accepted guard and the volunteers, the town was turned upside down to hunt for the S-class hunter. Now the search had turned outward and in fewer numbers than most would've liked, yet there wasn't a single soul that could say in confidence that Bulleta wouldn't attack again so soon while most of its guardians, appointed by official or self proclamation, were out; of the originally hunting pack, a closer of a four sevenths remained.

Every known outlying building was being searched. Every vine, or waterfall, hidden cave was to be inspected. Every fallen log was to be uprooted. The Red Riding Hood was by no means to be allotted rest if they could help it, and there was no telling what she could be doing with her hostage.

It was the only thing worth motivating Felicia to push her limits; Bulleta was by no means known for mercy in the slightest amongst other things.

Her group had split up, but all were to meet at an abandoned church on the outskirts should their search yield no fruit. As for Felicia, her own search started _at_ the church in question.

When she arrived at the only portal, excluding all cracks and crevices of course, her hair stood on end as two scents became known to her nose. Only Naruto's unique was recognizable due to the time spent with him...

"Bulleta..." Felicia nearly hissed out loud. Discerning eyes barely caught the tripwires laid out between what appeared to be rebar and the rotted wood of pews... narrowed eyes caught the small detail that the string actually went _past_ the wood. Her eyes flicked over to other details that she held no thought of at first...

A sharp frown pressed itself onto her features: The gathered piles of rubble were most likely hidden mines awaiting a hapless sap to detonate them. The edge of what appeared to be a cylindrical object, far too new to have been left behind, peeked out from behind a statue off to the side which time had taken a batch of sandpaper to. And the only other trap she could at least suspect came from wires bridging themselves to the few pews that still stood to prevent someone from simply stepping over the first set she spotted.

"Looks like my only way to cross is to use a bit of gymnastics," she mused. Using the still standing pews as stepping stones seemed to be her only viable path without setting off a suspected trap. Her muscles coiled as she prepared to leap, yet she stopped as a sudden thought occurred to her. This was her group's meeting spot, and who was she to say they would come inside if they didn't suspect danger or to come looking for her?

With a distinctive frown, she bent low and scribbled a hastily written warning in the dirt before returning to the task at hand.

She launched herself onto the very back of the pew, her cattish feet digging into the bark with a sickening crunch in both landing as the clenching aftermath. She smirked as feint memories of her time in the circus arose as she corrected herself with ease. A quick glance awarded her with a small wave of... wary relief to find that her only worry in a failed landing lied with landmines out in the open, most likely to catch more brutish darkstalkers or unwary trespassers if her route was replicated in their own, less skillful fashion.

It was disappointedly too easy for Felicia to slip past the traps with her grace that put gymnasts to shame.

Clearing what appeared to be the final line of defense, as far as the front door traps were concerned, in her last vault in a series of flips, Felicia rewarded herself with a sigh of relief before taking in her surroundings. The back was clear if she ignored the darkened holes, though the floor was raised by half a foot for what may have been ministerial duties such as choir or to read aloud passages from the tome(s) related to the religion that once took part in the ruins. The only conceivable place she could think of that Naruto was held captive was obviously where the scent only grew stronger, and that was a small doorway leading to what may have once been the offices of the clergy.

Slowly she crept to the door and peered over the corner. It was just the beginning, marked by the respective end of it, of what may have been a short hallway if she was to judge accurately from the size of the building. That said, there was most likely only two rooms filled with whatever Bulleta had in place for her or a hapless interloper...

The shine of a mirror caught her attention, and her eyes widened in horror to find Bulleta's image, adorned with an eerie dark grin, staring right back at her.

XVX

_BOOM!_

A groggy head snapped up too quickly for the boy's tastes as it only served to disorientate him further. Questioning blue eyes peered around him in newfound questions to where he was and what had happened, and were given a manic urgency when he found himself bound to a chair.

_BOOM! Boom!_

Whoever was firing what sounded like a cannon did nothing to dampen the now struggling blond haired boy's anxiety, and that was even factoring in the now diminished noise from the growing distance. "Damn it," he snarled as he tried to free himself.

"Oi brat, can you move your hands?" the bijuu rumbled.

The boy stopped his squirming and blink in thought before the idea struck him. He could feel the grin from the four-tailed monkey as he picked up on the thought as well. "Ha! So you _can_ learn! Perhaps there is hope for you yet!"

"I still learned _lava jutsu_ when you said I couldn't!" Naruto countered in a sing-song fashion.

"You have help..."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Bah!"

_Rattatatatat!_

A second burst of what he concluded as gunfire motivated the blond container into action. His prodding, groping fingers quickly proved to him that he was within hand reach of both hands, and so the hand seals were formed that soon gave birth to a globule of the burning magma in his mouth that dribbled out of him as if drool.

The ropes... and unfortunately his shirt, did not stand a chance as it burned its way to his skin only to be wiped away as if it was indeed drool. A pleasant, sometimes troubling when it came to clothes, side effect of being host to the one known as the monkey king; prolonged exposure of lava however was detrimental to his health for hydration reasons as Son Goku had warned in advance.

The gunfire had stopped-

_**BOOM!**_

Only to give way to the devastating forces that was an explosive... which may have caught something on fire if the scent of burning wood was an indicator.

Without nothing to hold him back, he leapt from the chair and found himself past the door in time for him to be introduced to the reverberations of an even louder explosion.

With only a healthy respect of the undoubted danger ahead, Naruto slide along the wall till her was permitted a chance to peek from the corner...

Felicia was weaving in and out of the pitted stage as it were while a new burst of gunfire was unleashed upon her with an uzi, and reloaded with leisure that was only afforded by the distance coupled with the difficulty of the terrain set between the gun's wielder and the snarling catwoman; strapped to the woman's back and wielded in her spare hand was an apparent fuel tank attached to a hose which ended with what appeared to be a pipe with a small torch blazing at the very front due to a miniature wand feeding said flame. Behind the red cloaked woman stood burning, smoldering, and further decrepit remains of a churchgoers' seats that were ignored for the two women's individual reasons. Not even the might of something unleashing its dutiful outburst with the crashing of a burning pew stole either one's attention.

Felicia, while miraculously avoiding the latest volley, dove into one of the many darkened holes in the raised floor. Even from his spot, Naruto could hear a disappointed "tsk" emanate from the red cloaked hunter as she dared approach the marred platform, and hand casually making sure her more commonly used weapon was holstered so it could favor the more... heavier arsenal at her command. If she had anything to say as she entered the obvious ambush point, she cast it away in favor of a dark gleam in her eye and a matching smile.

Slowly, carefully she swept her choice of weapon from one opening to another with only the occasional abrupt twist to face a previously checked or unchecked on entirely.

"Meow."

The S-class hunter half turned with all haste to her left to face the noise only to stop and turn just as fast to face the exact opposite-

A pair of clawed feet struck at her, uplifted her into the air, and an airborne clawed fist finished off the small combo by forcibly punching her straight into the dark abyss below with a shriek of surprise. A haughty flash of a grin adorned the cat woman before it turned into a righteous scowl that was joined in with a tongue sticking out, and an eye lid drawn down with precision to finish the mocking gesture.

Satisfied, she scampered away to find Naruto... only to find him waving at her from his hiding spot as she quickly drew closer in a haste that operated under the assumption of him being locked away. All the built up tenseness evaporated away to let a smile shine through, and arms used to propel her outstretched to collect the blond and ferry him away from this place.

_Click!_

That was her hope at least...

_RATATATATTAT!_

There wasn't much of a choice. True, she could've dodged by rolling to the side... yet the bullets digging into her back would've found another flesh and blood target that lacked her agility regardless of her actions...

"You didn't think it would be that easy now did you?" Bulleta purred darkly, seemingly having shown up from nowhere as she padded her way to her downed prey with her armament of an uzi and a flamethrower. "Not all traps directly involve guns and explosives after all."

Her chiding was lost on both Felicia and Naruto, the former from falling and sequentially trying to resist screaming in pain at the lead that tore into her back with the intensity of sharpened heated pokers and latter...

Was statue still.

It was funny in its own way. He had faced more than his share, by comparison to other children, of life threatening situations... aimed solely at him. During which he built up a tolerance of sorts between the frequency of hostile actions and some forced maturation with Son Goku's aid regarding that; he was never truly angry when it came to being on the brunt end of the fight, nor afraid either per se. At the very least he hadn't spent a significant amount of time to plan retribution on those who attacked him... including one possessed swordsman for that matter. It was nothing but wasted energy...

But those close to him were a matter onto itself as he suddenly learned...

Felicia and her kin, nor her company, could've simply took what they wanted and left him to wander the wastes. They could've demanded to know where he got his ill-gotten gains with deadly force not too far off. They could've done a number of things. Instead they gave him a place to sleep, a share of their dwindling store of food, and... gave him something that he didn't quite find, in exorbitant amounts at least, with the small collection of people he cared about in Konoha...

With the smiles, interest in his wellbeing, and aid regardless of the asking... he found probably the closest thing to a family he could find...

And a member of it was _gunned down_.

The young woman treated herself to a ominous smile as she approached the downed catwoman and the paralyzed blond child that somehow slipped his bonds. As far as she could tell, she had all the time in the world to-

Her advance was halted with the sudden flare of a savage intent to kill... and her startled gaze went to the only other occupant in the room that still stood.

His features had changed. His hair seemed to have grown longer in the course of a moment, with a frazzled animalistic edge to it. His eyes had constricted by a fraction if she were to guess, and their blue hues were changed to a rusted red-orange that burned with rage. His mouth was pulled back into a snarl that exposed his teeth to reveal that his teeth seemed to have subtly warped to a more primate-like mouth as far as she could discern.

Yet that wasn't the only change to him. The boy was surrounded by a pair of crimson streaks of energy that warped into a double helix that spun around the boy, all the while a monstrous bubbling cloak engulfed him at an alarming rate with but a few tendrils escaping the boys form as wild whips that soon conjoined into what would be considered a tail... All the hunter could do was take a step back, and it wasn't solely in shock.

Being a successful hunter came with perks when it came to fights.

_"HOWAAH!"_ With the primal battle screech, Naruto leapt at her only to be avoided with a sidestep. Whipping about, he charged at her on all fours only to be dodged once more with a measured step to the side. His newfound velocity, unchecked by an enraged mind that sought retribution, had him crashing into and propelling a pew to newfound heights of at least half a foot in the air; a nasty crack the size of the blond threatened to shatter it, and made good on that promise the minute it came back to earth. The pew itself crashed into the others and either knocked them over to their newly discovered fiery fates or destroyed the already decrepit wood, the resulting flying debris from such an act setting off other traps that would've claimed more oafish victims.

He didn't care, nor did he pay attention as he puffed both cheeks with the red cloaked woman in his rage driven sights.

Bulleta winced as she soon heard a keen detail that in all probability have been ignored by the creature assuming human form that her uzi was now aimed at. The howl of a wolf that rose over the dying roars of once deadly mechanisms being triggered. She had to end this quick else face the wrath numerous darkstalkers that were undoubtedly being drawn by the child's pulse of energy. All she had to do was pull the trigger.

Bullets ripped through the air to find a new blood engorged home in the boy who had taken to a primate's stance. They did not find it. Even Boney Hood gawked before a combat veteran by years of hunting darkstalkers compelled her to roll to her side to avoid an attack no enemy of hers ever wielded: _Lava_. Hot, molten, burning, destructive _lava_.

It was most certainly not what she could expect a _child_, much less any known creature that walked, lived in, or lived above the earth to use. Even the most legendary darkstalkers could use something so... _elemental_ that it seemed that mother nature itself had announced her presence.

She glanced to her flamethrower as an idle thought crossed her mind on its use, but could she really use _fire_ to harm something that _spewed_ forth lava... and was charging at her with a primal howl again? Possibly, yet on the other hand chances were she would only annoy him if his intestines could handle something that could destroy entire cities... there was certainly a significant chance, evolution-wise, that he wouldn't be harmed by his own attacks if he can vomit magma and utilize it as his weapon.

However flamethrowers were good for two things when in a pinch such as this. She dodged the frenzied child once more and let him scramble to escape from falling into one of the pits unabated as she attended to her own task; she unstrapped the tank from her back after holstering her uzi. Grabbing a hold of the tank by the straps, she spun herself around and around, gaining momentum with each revolution, and released the gaseous container at the child.

A malicious grin took hold as she ripped her automatic out from its resting place and opened fire.

_**BOOM!**_

_Howl!_

Bulleta snarled as she whipped around, sparing only a moment to ensure she wasn't going to deal with a possibly possessed boy after the brief glory of fire died out, to see through the open door a ever growing pack of werewolves, amongst other hunters and darkstalkersm, bearing down on the church. Her teeth gritted as she considered fleeing without her prize, she was dangerous but not suicidal, or idiotic, enough to take on a _pack_ rather than two or three at the most.

_Angry_ screeching however only cemented her irritated thoughts. Either that boy slipped into the hole to survive the improvised bomb or that shroud of his enabled him significant protection... it was a mystery to figure out later, if ever, as her need to escape became paramount.

She slipped a hand into her garments, paying enough mind to her surroundings to dodge a wad of lava bursting out of one of the many holes that littered the floor, and produced a smoke bomb. She didn't hesitate in its use as not only the collective hunting party and a snarling blond armed with a crystal knife (re)entered the church's main room to have at her.

Groans and snarls of disappointment or rage were only muted to but one voice, belonging to the only one ignoring everyone in search for the red hooded blond with the use of three limbs as his propulsion, as all attention went to the transformed boy and his more unique weapon and its equally unique trait: it was drinking in the physical aura enveloping the boy whether he knew it or not as he dunked his head into a hole to search for Bulleta. Even when he took to climbing a wall in haste to reach the top, the knife continued to absorb the aura.

Halfway up the wall, and beneath his notice as a more important objective consumed Naruto's actions, the knife's purpose became clear as it shot a shimmering blue globule out that expanded to the size of a bay window in the air.

"He had a key?!" Jon Talbain, at the head of the group, incredulously gasped. Yet on the other side of the 'window' wasn't of Makai, home of the more demonic sort of darkstalkers, nor of their dying world... it was the complete opposite.

Green trees, grass, a sun drifting gently through a sky-blue sky, and a village set before a mountain that bore four faces carved from the very rock itself.

Naruto continued to climb till he reach the top only to give an animalistic growl that lasted only a moment, and the power that was called in emotional turmoil faded but seconds after. Spent, he couldn't save himself from falling back into the church under the gentle sway of the breeze as his frazzled mind had shut down to rest. He was a sitting duck for the punishment that was gravity.

That, however, wasn't his fate with the intervention with the leader of the werewolves. Using the few remaining pews as long distance stepping stones while others entered at a more cautious haste upon discovering armed traps that have yet to be disarmed, the werewolf made it before the boy was halfway down from his perch.

"Someone get a first aid kit!" His head snapped to a gathering of darkstalkers and humans alike over a defeated figure and grimaced harshly upon realizing who laid on the ground in need of medical aid. "You faced her _alone_?!" he quietly criticized as fowl bile replace saliva. He shook his head with closed eyes as he calmed himself. It was neither the time nor place for such talk just yet.

He turned to leave only to spot a dull glow coming from the series of pits in the floor, and his mind already crossed it off as the aftermath of the crossfire between Bulleta and a berserk Naruto considering the boy's ability to use lava attacks. Yet he was curious enough to indulge a second look. Something was burning, yes, whatever it was had been robbed of its original form as the flames started to die out. Yet whatever the blazing object was revealed that it wasn't the only thing down there.

With a pointed frown, he swiveled his head to bark at some of his pack as they milled about with a sense of hesitance around the fallen pews and what weapons that survived poking out from the wreckage. "Noses up! I don't want to learn if that wretch is down there lying in wait or not!" he ordered before briskly walking away with the unconscious boy in his hold who still clutched the 'kunai' in a tight grasp.

"You just like to keep adding onto the mystery that is you, don't ya kid?" he mumbled as he passed the door... with what undoubtedly would be a topic of interest to the council.

XVX

**DARK TOME: Creatures**

**Main Type: ****Human**

**Sub Type:**** Varies (Meaning that this group can belong to several subtypes)**

**Darkhunters:** Many creatures from Makai have already flowed into the human world. Many of these creatures have high values for humans for items used as decorations, materials that don't exist in the human world such as the liquid and blood from the internal organs, and research for bio weapons and such. The demand for them is very high. The job of the Darkhunter was born to meet the demand for these clients.

These hunters track down these monsters and get the reward money corresponding to the creature they hunt. The risk level is very high but the reward is just as high. Because they hunt the creatures of the night, failure is not an option. Failing would mean one thing, death. To fight against these Darkstalkers, merely having a fit body, martial arts skills, and fire arms are not enough. It is possible for a Class C creature to kill an entire army of first class elite soldiers, though that is under specific conditions. A strong mind and spirit is also needed to keep one's self from losing their own sanity is needed. And a dark heart is needed so that they are not poisoned with the aura that the creatures give off.

Several hundred Darkhunters are said to exist in the world. Their skills vary greatly from hunter to hunter. Some of these hunters can barely kill a wild beast from Makai, let alone a Darkstalker. However, due to the coming problems with the sun, many Darkhunters have decided that in order to survive, they have chosen to join up with other human groups. While they don't like darkstalkers, they are willing to tolerate them for the good of all and more importantly, themselves.


	6. Chapter 6

**The following characters and concepts found in this story belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**All Dark Tome entries are from the original author ****_Demonabyss_****, minus any entry marked with a asterisk (*), those are custom made and not found in the original story. At the very least I don't remember finding them in it... (Secretly hires an army of mercenaries for protection)**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 6: A bit of doubt, a lot of hope

Town Hall, Junction

Rikuo, King of the Mermen. Sasquatch, Chieftain of the Yeti. Demitri and Morrigan Maximoff of the Demon Aristocracy. Anarkaris, Pharaoh of the Desert Kingdom. Vee of the Netherleaves. E-Bee of the Spirit Bees. Donovan Baine of the Darkhunters. Zabel Raptor of the Undead. Jon Talbain of the Werewolves. Grace of the Catwomen, substituting for Felicia as she recovered in local Medical Center. Last but not least Agatha Heterodyne-Wulfenbach.

These where to name the most notable of the respective leaders and relatively patient or unburdened representatives of the respective races, factions, and loose conglomerates that had gathered in hopes of surviving the end of the world as they knew it. There were numerous ideas and plans tossed about in actual hopes or in half joking means to stave off a depression... the smaller percentage of which being actual ideas as some had concluded. None of which mattered with the latest revelation in the form of a 'kunai' as its owner called it...

"Testing concludes what has been suspected as of late: This is by no means a standard Key of the Dark by any stretch of the imagination. As opposed to going to opening a doorway between the Human realm and the realm of Makai, as keys are known to do, this one leads straight to another Human realm that by description seems able to support life though presumably unlike our own as we know it despite its day/night cycle as far as we know." In a small pause, Agatha Heterodyne-Wulfenbach pushed up her large round glasses as they idly fell forward. A natural blond whom let her hair grow past her shoulders, dressed in a light yellow blouse garnished in a ornamented red corset. Her legs were garbed in simple brown working trousers, despite being decorated in a red line that was their seams, with but a handful of patches sewn into them that went as far as the end of each legging as one patch helped note before being partially sucked in by the tucking of the leg into a worn boot, out of two of course. Her jaw jerked to speak once more-

"Right then. Let's fire that thing up and get outta here!" Even Agatha shared her husband's sentiment, and attitude, towards the near rhetorical question, and its subject, of _how_ Zabel Raptor, the 'gutless' zombie as it were, had gotten to sit in on the meetings when several other candidates were available to represent the undead... she was just better at hiding it. For longer periods of time at least.

"Unfortunately it's not that simple," she replied in a sigh and the mild shake of the head. "As it stands, my husband and I believe it only reacts to one specific type of energy."

"Naruto Uzumaki." All eyes turned to Grace much to the catwoman's unease. Stifling a squirm to ease the sudden stress, she let loose an inaudible sigh. "It's only reasonable to conclude given what has happened..." she muttered before turning her own gaze on Agatha. "Though I... no... frankly we're all curious as to whether or not he's a darkstalker since we found him in the wilderness."

A mild nod was given in return as Agatha pursed her lips while she hummed contemplatively. "To put it bluntly, he is and he isn't a darkstalker from what we learned."

"Explain." The spark's eye briefly glanced at the speaker, Demitri Maximoff, before acquiescing to his request. "On a hunch, we discovered a seal located on the region of the abdomen. With the aid of several members of the magical community we managed to determine its purpose: From what we gather, it is an advance containment seal used to detain a creature whom we're not able to fully determine in identity nor power, though what we have found suggests whatever was sealed inside Naruto is comparable to Donovan in terms of strength at the least. As for the seal itself, it appears that it serves a unique function to which enables the darkstalker's excess energies to be gradually mixed in with Naruto's own pool of energies though as from what Jon Talbain and others describe, it seems possible that Naruto can be overwhelmed by the latent energies of what is sealed within him when... given proper circumstances..." Agatha cleared her throat as her lips twitched slightly in discomfort. It was an unspoken sentiment unwittingly shared with the catwomen's current representative.

"In any case, it seems the Key only reacts to the power given by whatever is stored inside Naruto."

"That seems problematic on the face of it," Rikuo near babbled. "Given his apparent age, he probably doesn't know what he holds inside him let alone the power he can wield as a result."

"I doubt it." A mental criticizing scowl was spent on herself as Grace came to the curious attention of the audience. With  
a sigh, she explained herself with the closing of her eyes. "To be honest, a good number of us suspected he was keeping a few secrets to himself when he made it a habit to avoid questions about himself and where he came from in whatever manner was available; we had to outwit him every time in order to give us a few details he seemed uninterested in sharing. From what we _have_ learned, he was something of a pariah that he resorted to theft to get the things he needed, namely his arsenal of "jutsu" as some of you may have heard but none of them pertained to the use the ability to use lava..." Resting her elbows on the table, her paws folded together to provide an impromptu resting place for her chin followed shortly with the half lidded reappearance of her eyes. "With his slowly growing arsenal of lava based abilities, I thought he was actually holding scrolls detailing his abilities back as something to gloat about. But now with this revelation, I wouldn't put it past him being in contact with whatever is inside him which itself may actually be the reason why he can even use lava to begin with let alone explain his more alienated state from wherever he came from."

"You know, a question comes to mind," Morrigan announced. A succubus of high ranking that was on par with her mate. Being a succubus, there was little any man felt wanting upon gazing onto her figure even when supplemented with a pair of batwings that sprouted from her head and a larger pair was evident from her back. Her choice of clothing has always been, and speculated always will be in her true form, a skintight suit that only went up as far as to give her breasts _some_ decency while the rest of her body, leading to her head, was bare that only her long locks of teal hair would occasionally cover them. The suit itself, as far as the torso was concerned, was a light black with a heart shaped patch of bare skin laying just beneath her bosom while her legs were garbed in a light violet cloth with a pronounced variation of the same color giving it several images of bats scurrying about. On her arms, starting from the lower half of her upper arms, a fingerless glove of pink salmon was worn that narrowed to reach only her middle and ring fingers on each hand. Of course her looks, nor her strength, were not the sole definition to her character in any regard...

She was known to be 'playful' even in the face of oblivion.

"Considering the nature of the key, and assuming that our dear little blond is from the other side, would he even be interested in going back?" she asked with a smile just as mischievous as the question was dour to the mounting hopes of the council. It only grew as it took surely effect on those of the gathered council, each one giving her a marvelous glee as some put the sockets of their eyes to the test while others squirmed much too uncomfortably due to the, of all things, reasonable question.

There was undoubtedly a reason to which he jumped to their world, even if it wasn't exactly intended. If he was capable as they speculated of him, then there was also a reason he hadn't jumped back... not yet at least. Morrigan only batted her eyelashes in the same manner as a schoolgirl acting innocent towards her father upon being charged with a crime when her husband turned a stern, near glare at her.

As for the others on the council, Morrigan's brand of humor as it stood was lost on all, save for Zabel of course as he taken to amusing himself by catching the small twitches and grunts of the remaining stoic members, as they considered the implications and ramifications of what can be done and what would happen as a result of the action taken. In the chaos, one notable blond went missing as the double door closed with a dull "thud" that went unnoticed.

XVX

'Hospital'

All things considered, the building converted into a treatment center was well kept despite the world as it stood. Generators were running at peak efficiency, the sheets were clean, windows were intact, and there was a sizable amount of drugs and other medication kept in stock.

However that mattered little to one boy slouching in his bed since he was admitted. As far as he knew, it was his fault. He was no stranger to hospitals nor was he truly to blame for going there time from time, in most cases at least, when he had to. But stupidity wrought onto oneself and only affected one in hindsight was a subject onto itself. If he hadn't spent time plotting on discreetly handing over the Key of the Dark then in all likelihood Felicia wouldn't be in the same hospital for treatment.

At least Son Goku hadn't taken to tormenting him for the time being.

As for the Bijuu himself, he only looked on as he pondered an irony aimed at himself of all things. As far as he had remembered, starting some time after humans learned of the power of sealing and its effects, he considered simian-kind superior in most, if not all, mental aspects when compared to humans. A trait to which he will not forsake if he has a say in it. The key to that belief lied in experience and the wisdom derived from it as well as what the senses learned as a result. Yet in all the wisdom he had garnered since his beginning in the days where the common creature would associate the time with legends and myths, he had nothing to offer his current host as the phantoms of doubt and regret clawed into him...

He was as powerless in this situation as he was in a seal outside of its intended function.

It was as funny in its perverse way as it was distastefully humbling; an immortal creature of immense power and intellect, compared to humans at least, is utterly useless where a mortal being and all it entailed could only prevail.

The muffled chattering, and its markers of surprise, from the hallway beyond the door slowly crept into the room and further entered uncaring ears as the boy those ears belonged to continued to dive into his own thoughts. Even the creak of the door fell on deaf ears. Not even the seemingly muted cry for attention. Two airborne kittens however managed to get his attention by crashing into him, somehow with enough power to knock him onto his back coupled with the shock of it all, and batting his unwitting, defenseless face with clawless paws while wearing scrunched up faces of concerned fury... that was overall lost on the face of a kitten.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop that!" Naruto cried as he shielded his 'abused' face from the unrelenting 'attack.' The assault lasted but a few more seconds, long enough for a pair of giggles to trickle into the blonde's ears, before both kittens relented, before retreated to as far as his lap, turn around and raspberry him followed swiftly by settling themselves down and ignoring his entire existence.

"What was that about?!" Naruto spoke through teeth gritted in annoyance, which was further added to by the non too subtle snickering from the bijuu held within him... and by the two women his senses finally acknowledged were in the same room with himself and the twins. The only other blond in the room he didn't recognize, but the same could not be said for the catwoman in a wheelchair pleasantly smiling at him.

"How are you doing Naruto?" Felicia asked, remnants from the kitten's 'assault' still lingering on both her features and her voice as she took the blonde's disheveled state in moderation. It took the culmination of her career before being a tribal leader to prevent the barest of twitches of a frown from marking her lips while she observed the boy's conflicting emotions, both real and false, as they subtly fought for dominion. At the most, Naruto could only manage a strained smile and a wave to which the muscles of his own body seemed to share in the internal struggle.

The catwoman's features softened as she scooted closer till she was within arm's reach of the blond in bed. Her suspicions born only a moment ago were confirmed when she caught the slight shifting of the eye to take in the wheelchair she sat on while Naruto's head turned away in hopes of concealing the act itself.

To his stilled surprise, a pair of paws gently wrapped around him and with equal care brought him to the chest of their owner. "Hey," Felicia softly spoke. "It's alright. I don't hold you responsible for anything. I know you're not the kind of person who would hurt people for your enjoyment." Her own eyes twinkled in mild amusement when a melancholy set, now brightened by the catwoman, turned to a pair of fuming kittens with an unspoken question seemingly aimed at keep him depressed. "Do you honestly think you can take on an S-Class darkhunter, berserk or non, and not have those close to you worried to death?" Felicia chimed in with a barely restrained giggle, even with having a similar encounter of sorts herself on more than one occasion in her life ringing clearly in her mind as if to have her burst out laughing.

Unfortunately she held no will power to keep it back with touches of affection when the twins mewed the cat equivalent of "yeah!" and 'attacked' Naruto once again.

From her corner of the room, Agatha shook her head pleasantly as she contented to watch a fellow blond feebly defend himself from clawless paws while the older catwoman watched on in her own amusement. She had come here with the purpose of talking to Naruto, gauging his personality and attitude, and if need be, convince him to aiding them by powering the key with what regard there was to be given over what was speculated and confirmed at a later time. Perhaps, like confirming what was fact and fiction, she would have to wait for the dust to settle and let doubt die of its own accord.

That, and watching two kittens 'beat up' a kid like Naruto made the entire scene too adorable to disrupt.

"I wonder how Gil's research is doing," she idly pondered to herself.

XVX

"Abandoned" Church

Sometimes the chance discoveries herald the greatest of boons. The questions that came with it were only a bonus to a curious mind if there was time to pursue them however. Did the ones who plotted the construction of the church above knew about the, for all intents and purposes, stone vault that lay beneath it? If so, was it to guard or in some shabby way shame the underground complex that was hidden away from the world at large? Again, there wasn't much time to learn the answers that may have been corroded with time.

Yet questions along those lines mattered little to the greatest discovery Gilgamesh Heterodyne-Wulfenbach continued to inspect it in the chamber that seemed to be the central nerve point to the complex at large, marked so by not only its sheer size to which could house a small army but also for the fact that most corridors and rooms were in fact attached to the chamber in some manner.

A Cullis Gate. A Cullis Gate consisting of a round circle nearly a fifty feet in diameter and made up of eight spires gilding the edge of the ring at equal distances from each other, each spire containing the same crystalline properties of Naruto's Key of the Dark in seemingly ornamental large gems embedded into the rock and the scriptures of said key in both rock and crystal alike. From the base of each spire, a dash-like line sprung forth made up of the crystal and rant to the center which converged into a small circle encompassing the very center of the Cullis Gate. There, at the center of the platform of glyphic brilliantly colored stone, stood a grooved pedestal of gray stone bearing an interesting feature for the spark. Nine grooves were carved into the pedestal, each one identical to the other to the exact detail of a "kunai" blade from the blade's tip to just short of the ringed handle where said ring met only open air.

A fact he confirmed with a duplicate in the form of a... borrowed kunai from the blond.

He sincerely doubted the unique Key of the Dark _wasn't_ a part of this Cullis Gate by design for some function, and if he had to guess... that function involved mass transport to the world Naruto came from. There were too many similarities in design for him not to come to this conjecture.

"I wonder if he's even awake yet," Gilgamesh muttered to himself as he gingerly rubbed one of the 'gems' of a spire. "It would certainly render the need for an amplifier useless if we can confirm this does what I think it does," he mumbled.

XVX

**DARK TOME: Creatures**

**Main Type: ****Human**

**Sub Type:**** Genetic (Meaning they are born with this)**

**Sparks:**Sparks are special humans who have an inborn genius level talent for the realms of science. Sparks are rare and it is difficult to find out who is one before a Breakthrough. A Breakthrough is when the spark's intelligence hits them practically all at once. This can happen at ANY age. Some like Agatha Heterodyne can Breakthrough as early as age 5. Breakthroughs are usually traumatic and cause the spark to go into a fit of creation and destruction. This is how many sparks die, either from their own creations or their own madness.

Though it is unknown what makes a spark a spark, it is known that it only happens in humans. It does not happen in darkstalkers. While it is possible for darkstalkers to gain a lesser version of it, such as heightened intelligence or ability, they cannot have the full form of the spark. The only exception to this rule is when a human is turned into a darkstalker and survives. Many times, sparks turned into darkstalkers die from madness as the spark is not very compatible with darkstalker instincts and can literally tear a person physically and mentally to pieces. As a result of this and the trauma involved with the spark Breakthrough, Agatha Heterodyne has developed a special mental restraint that can be worn as a necklace or broach. It prevents the spark from fully manifesting during and after a Breakthrough, making it difficult for the wearer to think and concentrate properly. It is designed to "ease" them into it, removing the trauma and making it less dangerous. It does have side effects such as sleep building, where the spark builds things in their sleep based on their conscious wishes. It should be noted that anyone else who is not a spark wearing the device will suffer death from mental shutdown.

Another thing that is known is that it is definitely a genetic trait. If someone's mother or father was a spark, chances are the child will be a spark as well, usually on equal level to that of the parent. However, if two sparks conceive then the child has the potential to surpass both parents. It should also be noted the theory, construction, and thinking styles can be hereditary as well. It the case of being the child of two sparks, the results will be mixed.

Sparks are well respected by both humans and darkstalkers despite creeping out both groups at times. They can enter a state known as "spark madness" where they work obsessively on whatever project is at hand. In this state they are really touchy, can be angered easily, and will turn on just about anyone until calmed. Combine this with the type of things they can create, they are treated with extreme caution. It is also good to note to never tick off a spark as they can attain payback in many interesting and (quite frankly) disturbing ways.

Another important quirk about sparks is something called "spark overdrive". This state is only achieved when a spark is given stimulants, ANY stimulants. This state is similar to spark madness in that the spark in question goes on an insane creation spree, remodeling, fixing, or inventing whatever is necessary given the current situation. This can be anything from creating advanced and intricate, tactical battle machines out of whatever is lying around to taking apart, rebuilding, and upgrading a coffee machine. In this state they are less insane and more … enthusiastic. They will still give orders and such but they will not get angry as easily as well as retain their personality more. Their thinking, movement, and speech will all be accelerated greatly in this state, by a minimum of five-times. They will correct any minor problems they come in contact with in this state, such as correcting spelling mistakes in a manual during research or repairing a tool so they can continue on. It should also be noted that while in "overdrive", a spark will tend to string together whole sentences into one word, making it difficult to understand them in this state. Spark overdrive usually starts immediately after the stimulants have been administered, with the spark slowing down as they wear off, eventually returning to normal speed and personality, though they will still want to finish whatever they started during the beginning of the overdrive.

A major drawback of spark overdrive is that the spark in question will ignore everything else except for the task at hand and anything related to it. No orders, threats, or anything will deter them from what they're doing, whereas with spark madness you can snap them out of it (at your own risk). They will even ignore sleep, food, and other such necessities in order to finish whatever they started, or at least until the stimulant wears off, whichever comes first. Another drawback is that prolonged spark overdrive can cause serious mental strain on a spark, much like working a machine beyond its normal capacity too long. Eventually the spark will shut down for awhile, unable to do more then basic thought. How long a spark can stay in overdrive depends on how strong the spark is; the stronger the spark, the longer they can stay in overdrive.

It's important to note that the stronger the stimulant, the longer spark overdrive lasts and the faster the spark in question is enhanced. Also, the stronger the spark, the longer and more intense the overdrive is. A whole cup of normal coffee, black, for an average level spark will last about two to three hours. A Heterodyne espresso special, regardless of the spark's level, will last about three days nonstop minimum.

*******DARK TOME: Structures**

**Sub Type:**** Magic**

**Cullis Gate:**All Information regarding the arcane structure dubbed "Cullis Gate(s)" are limited to the interpretations of modern day practitioners of magic and sparks with an interest in, but not limited to, archeology and/or magic.

Who created the cullis gates, and more importantly how they were constructed, is unknown with few, if any, manuscripts associated with them that have survived the passage of time from whichever point they originated from. Even then they are known to be incredibly difficult to decipher given no known base for the languages that were inscribed or at least associated onto/with them. Unfortunately this aggravation to archeologists and magi alike is but the kindest form of mental torture involved when regarding the culiis gate as a series as more recent discoveries brought to light that cullis gates were proverbial snowflakes; no two cullis gates were alike in one or more cases such as design to name but one problem.

The purpose of the cullis gate, at large, consisted of two abilities: Teleportation to another gate or summoning a being housed within the same realm as the gate, provided that enough power is being fed and some form of operator handled the fine tuning needed for the gate to accomplish this purpose. However several gates demonstrated uncommon abilities, either by alteration by a third party or by specific design, to which would be later defined if only fractionally.

Only two types of cullis gates are said to exist as the only accepted standard amongst them: The Self Energized cullis gates, seemingly commonplace to fuel the bare essential ability to teleport users from one location to the next, which are built along a leyline of energies and the "Custom" cullis gates which are often associated with the more unique functions a cullis gate is said to possess due to their suspected purpose and alterations made by a third party for whatever plan that had set out to accomplish. It is important to note that "custom" gates are often located away from known leylines and thus have to be powered externally through whatever methods the creator behind the gate had, quite literally in most cases, set in stone.

Abilities a custom gate includes, but not limited to nor brandishing more than one _relatively_ strange ability, opening a doorway to Makai or a likewise realm most mortals are not known to go to by normal means, summoning entire armies or even supplies from a unrelated location, and likewise mass transport for armies and supplies to a unattached location.

One a side note, it is suspected that Keys of the Dark are descendants of the cullis gate. It has yet to be confirmed if the abilities often associated with a key of the dark are either based on the more unique function of a "custom" cullis gate or are in fact are only related in function by sheer coincidence.


	7. Chapter 7

**The following characters and concepts found in this story belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**All Dark Tome entries are from the original author ****_Demonabyss_****, minus any entry marked with a asterisk (*), those are custom made and not found in the original story. At the very least I don't remember finding them in it... (Secretly hires an army of mercenaries for protection)**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 7: Road of life, detour to the right

Crypt, seven days later

In truth a good few were against the idea of a _second_ away team for one reason or another... yet no one truly voiced their disproval over it in part of the potential bounty it yielded. Success of it after all meant a faster means of escaping their world even if it meant risking more lives than necessary; it was a classic case of gambling at its finest, victory grants boons while failure brought only ruin.

All that could be learned of the cullis gate was written in stone as far as the Sparks and wielders of magic were concerned, both literally and figuratively speaking. The gate itself was essentially an enlarged version of the crystal key of the dark with its own set of crystals adorning the spires of the rim acting more as storage tank than a decoration for a bijuu's energy, the key component for their only means of transport en masse whereas the key of the dark was limited in both the size of the portal and its nonexistent ability to retain the power, not to mention the key was far more prone to strain from constant use. The only other commonality the two shared was that whenever the portal was opened, it was always at a random location.

Yet there was a slight problem regarding the cullis gate that baffled those who had a savvy understanding of the archaic structures... it wasn't exactly stable in comparison to the unique key of the dark. The portal, when activated by the gate, wavered, quaked, and uncontrollably changed its size when it was activated. Test dummies tossed through it to gauge the harmful effects of crossing the portal... light charring and mild lacerations were the best of the recorded damage among those that didn't pass through unharmed. When combined with the 'kunai' however, the amount of 'survivors' increased marginally from a rough sixty percent to sixty-eight percent as well as stabilized the portal to a more agreeable state.

Hence the idea of a second team to head for the Elemental Nations as they were called, consisting of Agatha Heterodyne-Wulfenbach, Lucas Marden of the werewolves, Toa of the Silent Sisters, and lastly... Naruto Uzumaki...

The only redeeming quality to risking him as such in his former home alongside with the only key of the dark they had access too was the fact that the residents of Junction, no matter how loose the term resident was at this point, lacked any sense of direction afforded by the memories of the bijuu and the location of keys begot from it.

Armed with a shaky plan at best of reporting in weekly, followed shortly by opening a portal via the key, which Naruto was to carry at all times during the excursion, to check on the progress of the first team in regards of their own task of planting a anchor on a leyline to ensure a more consistent emerging point in the Nations. That particular task was to be done by Donovan Blaine, Lucy of the catwomen, Jon Talbain, and the undead sisters Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling whom already left through the first tiring exercise of opening the portal, opened once more hours later for the second team to lumber through with a drained blond in tow.

Only time would tell if the gambit will pay off with the bounty of the extra crystal kunai as a reward or their doom as their consequence.

XVX

Elemental Nations

"Oof!" The first glorious announcement of one's presence, outside of heavy bodily thuds, of entering a bright alien world rang crisply throughout the forest from two voices as opposed to four. In all fairness however neither were able to so much as grunt as one was actually unconscious from the impact due to the drain beforehand while the other was effectively under an oath of silence. It didn't truly matter however by what captivated the group at large: Sunlight and the lush environment surrounding them.

"You only see this kind of stuff in old picture books and stuff," Lucas mumbled. He was a tanned werewolf of slim build compared to most of his pack, yet the small multitude of scars his fur was unable to hide in a strong breeze testified his experience of a fight.

"Indeed," Agatha all but whispered pleasantly as she observed the sunbathed world with a growing smile. It took the mild shaking of her shoulder to shake her from the small reverie of witnessing a healthy, green environment to the priest, garbed in burnt yellow robes with a rust red sash as a belt while another ran across her chest to her right shoulder, in their midst and by proxy the host of Son Goku as he lay in her arms.

"Right, I suppose we should make camp for now..."

XVX

Three days later

Roughly two dozen pins were pinned to a... conveniently found map brought to them not soon after their arrival. Ethics were to be discussed later. The pins represented keys of the dark, spares created for a purpose only the forger or the former wielder knew of, that Son Goku knew the location of since the task of guarding them was made known in the last days of the Great Sage's life. Provided that they were still there at least; centuries had a habit of reducing mountains to fields, turning rivers into canyons, and destroying whole civilizations long before an immortal being realized a change had occurred. Hapless thieves, be they intentional or not, could've bypassed whatever traps that awaited them and taken the unique kunai, the bijuu in charge of their defense could've moved them, or time had taken a bite at them directly or indirectly with the changing of the geography.

Each of the bijuu guarding their own set had taken on their own approach by their own decree: Shukaku (the One-Tailed Tanuki) moved to the deserts and buried his set beneath the ocean of once was once rock, thus rendering the idea of pillaging his lot as vexing as well as insane as the bijuu was said to be as he grew older.

Matatabi (the Two-Tailed Cat (Bakeneko) made hers disappear much to her sibling's puzzlement as to how she did it, let alone why.

Isobu (the Three-Tailed Turtle), much like Shukaku, took his to sea and left it to where only he could claim it at leisure.

Kokuo (the Five-Tailed Horse(?) taken his own gathering to the west in what was still considered the uncharted lands today.

Saiken (the Six-Tailed Slug) unsuccessfully hidden his within the mountains Southeast of the Land of Fire thus rendering Son Goku's knowledge of thier location, yet whatever the bijuu had left to defend them with, provided that they were as strong as the day they were made, was an mystery.

Chomei (the Seven-Tailed Rhinoceros Beetle (Kabutomushi) had a likewise position in the regions between the shinobi villages of Kusa and Ame, the latter of which was known to be heavy set with fighting for the past few decades.

Gyuki (the Eight-Tailed Ushi-oni) was probably the only one of their kind to actively defend his set, thus only hinting their location somewhere within the country known as the Land of Lightning.

Kurama (the Nine-Tailed Fox) hidden his own batch within caves in various parts of the Land of Fire with only an _extreme_ handful only known to the other bijuu, and that was only through taunting under the belief that his defenses were strong enough to hold them off if _they_ dared to steal them... oh how Son Goku quietly snickered upon learning the truth and being reminded of it.

As for Son Goku himself, much to Naruto's annoyance, he didn't proclaim himself a King without reason... but that was for a later date as a new discovery had taken an unprecedented hold of their plans.

By what information they were able to gather as to their current whereabouts was somewhere within the country known as the Land of Rivers, near the shinobi village of Taki to be specific. Being an unwilling resident of an Stone Iwa for decades had its perks, such as gleaning what information that was made evident to the former host of Son Goku. Thus came an intriguing opportunity that the secondary team was presented with: Recruiting a secondary host of a bijuu, Chomei; the keys didn't react to Son Goku's power alone, and history had a tendency to rhyme itself if not repeat when it came to those who have a tailed beast sealed within them. However where there was a boon to be gained, there were risks to weighed. Since there was a general lack of information about Taki as to its day-to-day life there was no guarantee that the was even half as idiotic as its larger counterparts, thus whatever reason towards leaving Taki may not fundamentally exist. Even if there was a substantial reasoning towards escaping the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, the problem lay with the type of enemy the current group had no true knowledge in fighting; the young age of Naruto not only deprived him of power but of any chance of even a Leaf shinobi of showing his true skills when out to slay him, and second hand experience could only help so much to those who either lacked the skill or had no idea how a enemy operated. Even in the off chance of the team miraculously entering the village, there was still a matter of convincing Chomei's current vessel of not only another world existing and in need of help but to actually lending a helping hand as well.

Of course the odds of them encountering Chomei's host as it stood were-

"LOOK OUT!" Before anyone could react, a small girl with mint green hair all but killed the hapless blond container as she came crashing through the trees and landed on top of him in a roll that took the two away from the improvised meeting of the four by a few feet as a tangled mess of limbs and unconscious groans. She was in cloths befitting her age, a white shirt and shorts trimmed in a line of orange, though not as pristine as they could've been with the collection of grime and dust that beset it as well as some fraying along the hem. Her sandals, brown leather, were much too big for her, the only reason they held onto her feet were by the multiple wraps of rags that bound them to her feet and ankles. However only two beings were able to tell that she wasn't normal, Lucas by the right of his nose detecting two scents intermingling with each other, and Son Goku with the debatably intimate positioning of his host and the unknown girl.

"MY HOST ISN'T EVEN HALF AS CLUMSY AS THAT, CHOMEI!" Son Goku indignantly roared into the murky depths of the void. He wasn't the least bit surprised when he received a response to it.

"Hey! Fu couldn't see where she was going! Being at the lucky age of seven doesn't mean mistakes can't be made!" another voiced literally buzzed in at an eerily understandable cacophony of several winged bugs buzzing.

"Oh sure, an accident. How about we just jump off a cliff while we're at it and sprout wings?"

"I already have wings..."

"BAH!"

"They're being loud..." the girl weakly mumbled despite her current state. A groan of agreement left the equally knocked out blond.

Though curious, slightly amused, and partially worried of the ramifications of the collision itself, a lycan ear twitched at disturbances that the normal human ear wouldn't catch so soon nor as far away. "Gotta go."

XVX

Senju compound, Konoha

To those who ventured deeply enough into the halls of the virtually extinct clan of the Senju, they would have long since found the inner studies and bedroom a mess that had yet to be fixed. Even the library held the same chaotic touches to it though not as grand in comparison. Books were piled up in disorganized messes concerning family trees and bloodlines. Charts of the human anatomy were strewn about on the tables and pinned down with whatever was the most convenient at the time be it book, pin, or even a cup. Books about the arts of sealing, tossed open and left at whatever page that was deemed most important, decorated the tables or chairs not occupied by the charts. Last but not least there was a growing mountain of medical texts and techniques of a theoretical kind dominating the floor surrounding the charts. The only thing truly out of place, other than the occasional dishware, was but one small vial containing dark brown hair... and a dead fish laying on the equivalent of an oak coffee table manned by the one bearing the Senju clan's name.

The fish was on a scroll which was surrounded by scrolls and texts of the medical variety regarding the use of chakra, however outdated it was compared to modern day standards, but it was more than enough to move with discretion. No one suspected anything as of yet, and hopefully it stayed that way long after he had set out what he direly wished to accomplish. As it stood, he was standing over the fish with both hands cloaked in green chakra. "Come on," he hoarsely whispered to no one as he was doing one of the most basic exercises of the medical profession in the world of shinobi: Reviving a fish. Sweat, exerted from the unorthodox introduction of shakra and its use, had long since accumulated on his brow and escaped to wherever gravity dictated it should land much to his aggravation as his eye caught the slightly dampened pages beneath his current gaze.

_Flop!_

The tail jolted to life, nearly tempting the proclaimed Senju into break his concentration.

_Flop! Flop! Flip-flip-flip-flip!_

"YES!" Finally the casted chakra dissipated into nothingness as he marveled his own victory in accomplishing the beginning step of what would doubtlessly be a long and arduous process. There was still research to be done, samples to collect for insurance, experiments to be done to ensure success-

_Flip-flip-flip-flip!_

Teeth gritted in boiling annoyance. Immediately a knife was grabbed and slammed into the table where the resurrected fish lay against its will. With the sudden halt to the struggles of a now deceased life, the Senju was free to continue his musings as he moved to protect the scrolls and books from the taint of animal blood.

He wasn't even aware, or even the least bit concerned if he was indeed aware of it, of a pair of baleful red eyes that glared at the boy. No growl was given, it would've been ignored in any case. The seal kept him from acting out anything greater than a verbal assault, to which would've been ignored as well as the growing number of days proven before. All he could do was bide his time, conserve his strength, and await the moment to punish the impudent boy that had the gall to dream of controlling him to ensure his cushy life like the coward he truly was.

There wasn't much else he could do while his power was slowly being leeched...

XVX

Hotspring, Toronoka

"Just a little closer to the right," an elderly man in his late forties giggled inside a bush that covered a peephole along the fence it grew against. On the ground was a pencil and a notepad long forgotten in favor of the act of peeking through the opening, he didn't really need it given that there was only one occupant of the hot spring on the other side. As far as he knew, absolutely no one ventured to this area other than women when this vision of beauty entered the spring, most likely under the law of some lord or crime boss with an interest with this occupant. However there was one small, somewhat odd detail he learned off after a few discreet glances to avoid giving away his position, the women that seemed to have snuck into this area tried to peek into the hot spring in the same earnest as himself as they passed by and stayed for a time.

Was he possibly in an area where women were more... "open" in the nuances of relationships? He couldn't help but drool a little as he let his mind drift down that route, jostled back into reality by the quiet splashes from behind the fence.

"Now just turn around..." he near prayed after his current interest finally scooted over to the right in a more picturesque view. Oh how that raven hair shined so brilliantly in the light while full red lips pouted slightly at some thought that beleaguered the mind of their owner. "Oh, yes-yes-yes-yes!" he chanted quietly as the beauty slowly turned...

"Those aren't a woman's breasts..." the peeper deadpanned with growing dread. He had done his fair share of perverted activities, and thanks to that he could easily tell the finer points between a woman with an underdeveloped chest... and a man's chest no matter how feminine it appeared. It did not help his psyche in the least when his unsuspecting 'victim' was starting to get up...

Taking a cork from the ground, the elderly man plugged the hole with the same grace as a corpse suffering rigor mortis and rose up from the bush with a deadened heart that cared not for the gasps of the women previously unaware of his presence. "I need a drink..." he muttered with the hanging of his head, letting his white spiky bangs hide his face from the world while he robotically escaped his hiding spot to fulfill his desire.

Out of curiosity, while giving the disheartened man the evil eye, one of the younger women dove into the bush to find the abandoned notebook and pencil as well as the plugged up peephole...

Not even the knowledge that some members of the opposite sex was just as perverted as himself, confirmed by the same type of giggling he often gave in such an instance, gave no joy to Jiraiya of the Sannin after learning the one he had assumed was a geisha was in fact a hermaphrodite...

XVX

**DARK TOME: Creatures**

**Main Type:**** Human**

**Sub Type:**** Developed (Meaning they are trained to be come this, not born)**

**Priests/Priestesses:** These are humans who contain high amounts of spiritual or holy type power. This power usually aligned to the element of light and is holy/sacred in nature. This power is the opposite of the power of the Dark that Darkstalkers usually contain and use. It should be noted that the power of the Dark and the power of the Light are naturally equal they will cancel each other out as long as the two are at an EXACTLY equal level. Should one or the other be even the slightest bit higher, that side will overtake the other. It is also possible for one to be infected and overtaken by the other. Otherwise, the two will naturally repel the other. The power of Light tends to be more passive then that of the Dark, but can be no less lethal to normal people when used in high amounts.

This power is not in born and must be gained through training and experience. So far only humans, angels, and similar beings of light have the spirit, will, and capability to gain and use this power. Priest and priestesses are humans who have trained hard to gain this power. Very often their power is much more potent then when it is found naturally in other creatures such as angels. They usually dress in sacred clothes relative to their culture. The same for any weapons they may use. Personality wise they are usually kind and or soft spoken. However, they tend to view ANYTHING even related to the power of the Dark as needing immediate purification, which can sometimes means its destruction. As a result, many darkstalkers and normal people see priests and priestesses as no better then Hunters. Though not all of them are like this and a few have been known to befriend darkstalkers.

When a person containing the holy power of the Light is turned into or attempted to be turned into a darkstalker, one of four things will happen depending on the person, the level of Light they have, and the type of the darkstalker. The first, if the Light isn't that strong, the person will become a darkstalker with some additional pain as the Light is overtaken by the Dark. Second, if the Light is strong enough, the change will be prevented and the person will stay the same though it will hurt like a bitch. The last two can occur if the Light and Dark are equal. More often than not, the conflicting powers will cause a violent reaction as each tries to dominate the other, usually leading to an extremely painful death. The last result is ungodly rare but it has happened. The two powers will balance, causing the person in question to be able to use both equally. However that person must maintain that balance or else the powers start to get violent with each other.


	8. Chapter 8

**The following characters and concepts found in this story belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**All Dark Tome entries are from the original author ****_Demonabyss_****, minus any entry marked with a asterisk (*), those are custom made and not found in the original story. At the very least I don't remember finding them in it... (Secretly hires an army of mercenaries for protection)**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 8: When gaining momentum...

Storm Breaker, eight days later

The Storm Breaker, an aptly name for any ship of war of great size that made it one of a kind. At least until someone jealous enough tried to match it of course, yet they would be hard pressed in succeeding such a goal much to the delight of captains old and new, by relativity, of the Storm Breaker. Half a size greater and a quarter wider than an Ocean Liner from any world they knew of, brimming with cannons to every deck on both sides that made any direct attack on it folly, and five stories worth of rooms and cabins to host the army needed to maintain the behemoth of a ship... Grand sails dominated the deck, the sides of the hull as fins in comparison, and the belly of the ship as well that were brimming with the passing wind. Each sails was of black cloth , yet only the grandest of the sails bore the flag of its captain- a black flag bearing a hollowed jagged heart of red that housed a grinning skull while a pair of cutlass swords crossed underneath the heart.

This was the personal flagship of Ruby Heart and her armada of Sky Pirates, the latter shown in only a fraction of its full strength as only six sloops of war guarded the flagship from those bold enough to threaten her, both ship and captain, that felt agile enough to avoid the Storm Breaker's artillery might.

And her maiden flight was a sign of the times as they stood. With the inadvertent meeting with Fu, current host of Chomei, the exodus from their world was a steady beat. Yet it was still too slow compared to the capabilities of the Cullis Gate when only small portions of those who resided in Junction could crossover, hence the search continued while those who had crossed over were laying the ground work to their new home in what is currently known as the Land of Waves... even if the ground work means inadvertently setting an area of Konoha ablaze to eliminate a crime boss that was endangering the Land of Waves through extortion and one sided business deals.

Considering his mixed history with Konoha, Naruto wasn't sure whether to laugh about that or be concerned on behalf of those he actually liked there. Son Goku however had no opinion other than briefly switching his usual musical repertoire with those associated with burning and fire as opposed to the sun and daylight.

Where he accumulated these songs was still a mystery much to the blonde's aggravation and Son Goku's amusement.

Regardless, the Storm Breaker and its fleet were heading south, going farther than what the maps had suggested to an island known to only the most dedicated of explorers, the luckiest of travelers caught in a storm, and one bijuu over the ages and simply known by one name: Hōmu. This was the aptly named home of the ones that called Son Goku the King for they were his loyal followers no matter how long he had been away, and as such he saw fit to let them guard his own personal trove of the keys while his kin were more content with hiding their own with whatever they deemed appropriate for the task. The only real problem to it was that it was incredibly difficult to reach given its secluded state, and the sea was not a predictable power that bowed only to forces that bowed to no one save gods.

Oh How Ruby Heart was happy to provide.

"Land Ho!"

Already field glasses (binoculars) were raised in Naruto's hands to spot the home of the Fire Monkeys and its jungle setting. Only one mountain decorated it towards the north, yet it didn't meet the oceans nor of the beaches that ringed and at times peppered the island in some places. On some of the cliff faces as well as in some places of the jungle stood out buildings of ancient designs that bordered on primitive, relics of an older age of a civilization that predated Son Goku and his own chance discovery of the island, only the buildings in the jungle looked to be of some worth in their purpose granting their gargantuan size and the time worn decorations that still stood to be recognized as faint reminders of such.

But they were unimportant as something of a disturbing sight came to greet the binoculars, telescopes, and other such ware to those who trained their vision on the island's nearest beach: Warfare. Gorilla warfare to be exact. Armed with spears, swords, armor, shields, and other such implements for battle befitting their size and structure, apes and monkeys, marked only by their smaller stature and tails given the all but perfect resemblance to their larger kin, of flame red fur and blackened skin with two differing banners on their backs were in the midst of a battle against those bearing the opposite banner. One banner looked to be a crude crown of sorts in a simple outline of such, though in further inspection it appeared the banners were personally made by those who worn them as some were far neater than others and even more detailed, on a field of white, dirtied white in some cases as mud and blood tarnish the otherwise plain cloth, with only one set of words to mark the banner: "True King." The other banner was of a fiery red with the face of some resemblance to Son Goku as its decoration, also subjective to the personal quirks of those who carried them, with their own title to the banner: "Loyal Sage."

"Oh ho! Seems like a mutiny is a brewin' if I ever did see one," a woman chimed in with a slight accent as she sauntered towards the awe struck blond spying on the happenings below. She was a fairly tall woman bearing the same color of blond as Naruto, though her locks, wavy and especially feminine despite her lifestyle, went past her shoulders to the small of her back. A white frilled shirt parted open slightly at the top revealed a portion of her bosom adorned her chest while relatively bright baggy black pants covered her legs, both garments however were tucked underneath other articles of clothing. Brown leather boots went as high as just beneath her knee caps till a small amount of leather folded back towards the rest by an inch and a half. A long coat missing only its arms but not shoulders, with a scarlet ring circling around her waist, of the same quality of color as her pants followed the same pattern as her shirt, though wider to show off a portion of her shirt much like she allowed her bosom to be revealed, save for the bottom half that remained unbuttoned as it traveled past her waist. Underneath her coat, and furthering covering her white shirt was an unknown item with some resemblance of armor dominating her abdomen bearing a jungle green color while a thick band underneath it held a fern green. What this article was in exact purpose was unknown as it traveled up to the ends of her sleeves of her original shirt where the chutes of her frilled shirt's cuffs arched back for an inch. Gracing her head was a simple leather band acting as an eye patch for her right eye while a large black hat, trimmed in scarlet red and folded at the sides to follow the curve of the hat's cranium.

Naruto had little to offer her as he regarded her with only a grimace as Son Goku... his anger was that of a calm before the storm, and just as silent too.

By whatever power or reasoning that operated her, the pirate, Ruby Heart herself, only smirked as she turned about with a strangely understanding gleam in her dark blue eye.

XVX

Hōmu

Only the ones away from the frontline had a chance to hear the whistling of objects hurtling through the air. Until the chaos that followed, all they could do was scratch their heads.

**_BOOM!_** **_CRASH! BOOM! BOOM!_**

In less than a minute, the bearers of the white flag were fired upon by forces unknown to them and their numbers soon decimated before even the shrillest of agonized cries could warn their comrades of the doom that claimed the unfortunate ones. The less lucky ones, those caught by the flying debris from the flying earth, rock, and splintered weaponry went flying at speeds that scratched and even pierced both armor and hide alike, however were more than eager to let their pain known where the dead were... content to keep it to themselves.

"RUN!"

"RUN AWAY!"

"MOVE IT!"

More earth and bodies were sent flying when the whistling came again, and whatever had caused it landed with horrendous force.

Not that the red flagged army minded when their confusion, even some horror, was assuaged upon the revelation that whatever the cause of this phenomena had no interest in their numbers. At least not yet. With this cautious paranoia, they were more than glad to creep away from the region now beset by whatever force that destroyed anything that was unfortunate enough to be in the blast.

"Ooh Ha!" The flag bearing army directed their gaze towards the sky to find a... curious at best sight of _flying ships_ as opposed to the water bound normalcy that had seen. Flying rowboats, armed with miniaturized sails of their larger kin were on their way to them. Yet the cry alone wasn't the only reason they turned their gaze towards the sky as a signature of chakra was being flared for all present to learn of...

A familiar type of chakra. A kind that many were trained to know of through the oral teachings left untainted over the ages.

"Go! Inform the Steward!" Immediately a small grouping of predetermined runners left the awaiting host of the island's denizens and barreled down the beach with all haste available as their otherwise encumbering armament, no matter how light or nonexistent in some cases, permitted them to be. Departing from the opposite side came a one armed gorilla, the other being nothing more than a matt of hair to hide whatever disfigurement that now stood, with a flanking of six of his brethren on both sides. He hadn't had much in armor other than a chest piece that guarded the region of the abdomen and a heavy gauntlet protecting his remaining hand as well as the forearm. Already his face was scrunched up in a scowl as he stared at these... uninvited guests as they landed upon their shores and disembarked.

The walking dead of humans came to them. Snakes with the upper bodies of men, though retaining the heads, scales, and webbed spines of a aquatic serpent's nature, were amongst their midst, creatures much like the snakes, though much more human in general form, walked among them, last but not least humans walked among them... all of them something akin to a loose guard however to a group that made up the head of the newfound trespassers on their land: A blond human woman bearing the strange odor of things they had no name for nor the knowledge for, a tanned wolf with the vague resemblance of a man as he walked on his hind legs, a priestess, another blond human with a missing eye all but leading the group before the gathered horde of mismatched beings, yet it was a third blond that took the lead in an eagerness that bordered on apprehension .

It was this third blond, child amongst humankind, that aroused the most interest as he staved off a pant from lingering energies that took the form in a red-orange cloak that dissipated into nothingness...

XVX

Steward's Retreat, twenty-three minutes later

He was undoubtedly older than everything else that inhabited the shadowed grove amongst the jungle where the trees were more ancient than he with their size attesting to that fact. His own fur, once a fiery red, had grayed to a darkened silver colored fur whereas the black skin toughened by age and experience paled over the years from the lack of sunlight as his body's strength to move on its own accord in now once great feats had atrophied thanks to the passage of time. Yet despite his decrepit state, it was obvious he was considered the "Sage's" leader and retained the dignity of such even when relying on others to move. As of now he sat on a massive as he intently stared at the boy as he entered the small clearing through a tunnel of such roots that time had also made, at the boy's side was nothing but a small entourage of his younger kin in both their forms; outsiders were rarely welcomed because of their aggression and general naivety that bordered on ignorance if not arrogance...

The elderly gorilla of the Fire Monkeys wearily closed his eyes and drew in a quiet sigh to only himself.

Pride was a double edged weapon to those who did not watch themselves. Regardless, while most humans, and by extent under the circumstances creatures of an unfamiliar sort, were not welcomed with open arms, there was an exception to this policy that rarely came to Hōmu by the will of their Lord.

It only served to dishearten the elder to learn that the _true_ ruler of their home, the _actual_ King that they pay homage to, came back in the containment of a human to find his place of rest now beset by the strife of civil war by those who are blinded by their own false truths.

"So you are the one who now has the Great King bound to you?"

Though rhetorical in nature, he did receive an answer with a surprising amount of firmness given his age. "Yes."

"What is it then that brings you to this isle then, in the company of other outsiders no less that are not bound by the sea?" He watched on intently as the boy gave his response. while words can say one thing, the body would tell a different story.

A small frown adorned the features of the child as he reached into a pocket and slowly, unthreateningly, revealed an all too familiar object to the elder as tightly held in the boy's grip. "Rather than ignoring those who took me, and by proxy Son Goku, in when reason would have said no for the sake of survival, when coming to my aide meant death being more palpable than a nightmare coming to life, we decided to help them in return to escape the coming demise of their homeland with the use of the keys."

The elder slowly blinked at the boy as the cogs within his mind turned at a pace only afforded to him by the security of the grove...

As for Naruto, he was cringing on the inside long before his arrival to this secluded spot and his separation from familiar faces. Son Goku had long since been silent since observing, a trait he only partook in when there was nothing to provoke his opinion or if there was absolutely nothing that could be said on his part, and his emotions, once a brooding hint of an anger ready to be unleash had come to a strange measure of peace for now... Everything else about him was reserved from what he could tell.

It just wasn't his style from Naruto's understanding of the bijuu.

"Your search may have been in vain then." At an unseen command, an attendant to the elder scurried out of sight behind the root only to emerge shortly after with an object in the grasp of one hand, bound inside the wrapping of a jungle leaf, and rushed towards the container to deposit it with a mix between great care and great disgust as it handled what appeared to be a scepter for thicker hands. It was strange in its appearance as the ornamentation was no greater than the care to ensure the surface was smooth despite its crushed crystal-like nature that seemed to be what made it... with strange broken lettering on the inside made incomplete by the breaking of the once unique kunai that the scepter was made from.

"The Pretender had taken to madness and disrespect to solidify his hold in what he calls a throne." A heavy, disgusted scoff erupted from the elder followed short by a hacking cough that was soon settled with the help of another attendant patting his back heavily to banish it. "So what will you do," he finally asked as soon as the cough abated, "child of humans?"

Son Goku was still silent even as his attention was solely focused on the remains of multiple kunai to form what was doubtlessly a symbol for power and rule till it was stolen from whomever dared to hold it. But even Naruto knew exactly what the now silent King wanted to voice with all that had happened while he was away for years spanning close to a century, and perhaps long overdue at this point as well.

"What happened?"

XVX

**DARK TOME: Creatures**

**Main Type:**** Any (Meaning they can be any type & sub type)**

**Sub Type:**** Developed**

**Sky Pirates:** Sky pirates are a notorious lot, even more so then their sea bound ancestors. As their name implies, sky pirates roam the sky instead of the sea on sky ships (to be defined in a later entry). This allows them access to just about anywhere in the world. It also gives them the powerful element of surprise. Sky pirates came into being the same way normal pirates did. When sky ships were developed and trade routes created, pirates adapted to sail the skies instead of the seas. Like normal pirates, they raid, pillage, and plunder any place at any time. They are ruthless, relentless, and more often than not insane. However, unlike their water bound ancestors, sky pirates are not limited to passing ships and will attack settlements, travelers, and anything else they think is worth looting.

Sky pirates are usually people who live off of excitement, adventure, and freedom. As a result, they come from many walks of life and many different species. However, the majority of them tend to be humans, bestial type, experimental type, and undead type darkstalkers. Sky pirates are an interesting lot, usually each have their own quirks about them. They tend to be loyal to their commanding officers as long as the officers in question have their respect. However, once that respect is lost, the officers run the risk of mutiny and holding respect can be tricky with darkstalkers.

The current leader of the largest group of sky pirates is Ruby Heart. No one is sure if she is human or merely a darkstalker in human form. The blonde haired black coated pirate has demonstrated incredible strength, powers, and fighting abilities but it is unknown if this is due to darkstalker heritage or to extreme human training. She is known to be cunning and ruthless and does not tolerate fools in the least. However she has been known to show compassion at times. Many consider her mad, but she apparently doesn't know or doesn't care, it has never been stated one way or another. With the world falling apart, she has joined the refugees in order to find a chance at a better life and hopefully new skies to sail.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I have no reason that doesn't sound like an excuse.**

**On another note this chapter was meant to be longer, but I felt the rest of the content would be more fitting as another chapter rather than one whole chapter.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


	9. Chapter 9

**The following characters and concepts found in this story belong to their respectful owners. This story is for entertainment purposes only so please do not hire mercenaries, hit men, or any other intimidating person(s) to make your points clear.**

**All Dark Tome entries are from the original author ****_Demonabyss_****, minus any entry marked with a asterisk (*), those are custom made and not found in the original story. At the very least I don't remember finding them in it... (Secretly hires an army of mercenaries for protection)**

Atum-Coma: The City Hidden in the Nexus - Monkey Tale

Chapter 9: Dispute

Hōmu, three days later

_"By the decree of the rightful king, none of us who had lived through the centuries have ever arose any higher than the humble position of the Steward: The one that governs the island while the Great King is away and ensures his wishes are kept."_

In an open field amongst the jungleNo matter how hard they tried, the ranks of the white flags could not gain ground on their new adversaries even when there was nothing to assail them from a distance. What they were they did not care as they tried to break through the line of metal men that seemed to have bested them in brute force with unprecedented might. Were it not for the red flags augmenting the small platoon's worth of metal soldiers, the white flags would've simply bypassed the unfamiliar foes with the sacrificing some of their numbers to distract the metal men in the open field that was a battle ground.

_"Should the Steward at the time fall irrevocably ill, fall in battle, or otherwise steps down from his position, then a new one is chosen either by the direct selection from the previous Steward or by a series of trials meant to test the strength and will of those who wish to take up the mantle of leadership while being judged by the watchful eye of the previous Steward or a congregation of elders should the Steward be unable to make the decision for whatever reason that had occurred. As such, it was not that long ago that I had stepped down from my role and let a new Steward rise from the challenges that were set before him... he was not welcomed by all however. One rival, one challenger who failed the tests, refused my replacement and disappeared from our eyes to plot his vengeance over his own failure... and succeed before any of us had a chance to learn of his machinations and the coup that personified them."_

In another portion of the jungle island in a likewise expansion of open space, a trio of airships were patrolling the skies with lazy crews manning the ships. They knew where the enemy was and whom were in the very outskirts of their 'hunting grounds' where their spyglasses would only be greeted by twisted wood and broad leaves... were it not for the captain's orders then they would have their fun regardless of those who fought in the brush below, be they ally or their fellow pirates who got to join in on the excitement below. None of the white flagged units below dared to so much as poke their head from the virtual maze below much to the crew's disappointment.

From atop the lone mountain of the island, in the time ruined remains of what once stood as a palace or perhaps a grand temple for a civilization long forgotten, 'stood' a lone gorilla with a fiery mane on a balcony of the time-worn structure. Sitting upon his head was a crown of five points made of what appeared to be crystal, cracked crystal with equally fragmented scripture held within the glass-like substance; the spikes were of but one centimeter apart from one another and honed to a needle point. The closest thing to clothing he wore as opposed to the 'nudity' his kin generally favored was armor as encompassing of his body as it was thick plate armor, complete with pauldrons fashioned to resemble his own face with the crown sticking out as spikes. Plated armor with only two weaknesses: The joints, the most common weakness of all armors and constructs whether nor not the owner liked it or not, and his entire head as to permit his ability to wear his symbolic right to rule.

_"Yet taking the position was not enough for him. His ambitions were not that little as he had proven by proclaiming himself as the "King" of Hōmu, not the revered Steward... to solidify his claim as the "rightful, _'true'_ king of the island," he has been destroying everything of significant to the who is the absolute _true_ king of Hōmu regardless of what it may be and their significance to our home and of our lord. As if to prove something, as if to justify his false importance over a position he had not earned, he began to desecrate the most sacred of the relics we were entrusted to guard by turning them into trinkets unbefitting of their original glory and dolling it out to either himself or those who hold some measure of his trust within the ranks of those who support his heresy."_

Snorting with a heavy set scowl, the 'king' turned away from the numerous scenes below, not just the two, and walked into the inner sanctum of the once grand building, into apparent throne room to which the seat of power had been replaced with a nest befitting the gorilla's size that the balcony was connected to specifically. In it was a scepter of the same make as the crown and a sword of a brutish nature, a thick slab of cracked crystal sharpened at the sole bladed side to it that tapered to a point with but one handle to it, made from the now bastardized shards of numerous crystal kunai.

High above, in the stone rafters that still stood despite the lack of care shown to them, a small figure scurried about with what little care that could be afforded while dragging a burlap sack full of stones. Looking below it didn't seem like he was noticed as the 'king' settled himself into his seat. Grunting once more, the figure hoisted the bag to the very edge of his rafter, nearly falling over with the act due to the weight now creeping over the edge, and promptly let go to watch it fall upon its hapless target beneath him.

_CLANG! _

The aiming was off its original target area...

In utter annoyance the 'king' shrugged off the nonexistent load of rocks that bounced off the back of his armor, grabbed his ornate weapon, and rose up with his head craned up to the ceiling with his face twisted into a snarl of primal proportions.

"COME OUT!" he bellowed as he peered up at the ruined rafters above, his mind ablaze with the ponderings of how _anything_ snuck past his guards as well as to how to deal with this intruder who had the _gall_ to not only creep his way into his throne room but also _dared_ to attack him as well! But first was the matter of _finding_ the gnat who perpetrated these deeds...

But how?

Snarling and losing what patience he had the gorilla bolted and slammed into a nearby pillar that supported one of the remaining supports for the roof, easily crushing already weakened stone as he barreled into and past the structure. With no base the pillar had no choice but to crumble with its payload alongside some of the actual rooftop above in a flurry of dust, debris, and newfound sunlight soon following it. Yet no intruder. Snarling once more, the 'king' charged into yet another pillar, effectively repeating the same events as before while a darkened figure scurried over to the opposite end of the throne room pillars thanks to the veritable walkways that were the rafters that were still under attack from the berserk gorilla below who only stepped up his assault with each failed bid to reveal his attacker.

With no choice left, he descended the back of the pillar supporting his latest haven lest he would find himself buried within the rubble should the 'king' finally turn his attention to it.

"_COME OUT I SAY!_" he _roared_ as he demolished yet another set of pillars, bringing down not only them and the rafters connected to them but also an even larger portion of the roof with a thick rumble to announce its dwindling integrity. Ire at its highest, he charged yet another line of pillars, the very last of the pillars with no regard as the roof behind him began to crack and ground as the remaining portion of the roof started to give way to the call of gravity.

_CRASH! CRASH! BOOM!_

No one was to be found. Only sound, the sound of stone grinding and scraping against stone at first, then of sharp cracking of rock splitting furiously with the same bearing as a crack of earthly lightning followed closely by the thunder of rock embracing the touch of gravity with no regard of what stood in its path. By the time he looked up, it was too late to dodge the destruction of architecture, heralding the end of the world as he knows it.

**_CRASH (RUMBLE)!_**

From behind a fallen boulder, the distinctive mane of Naruto slowly crept into view shortly before the boy himself dared to poke his head out to stare at the wreckage of where the gorilla 'king' once stood. "HA!" he eagerly cried out, accentuating the mix of victory and short burst of what could've been laughter with a finger pointed at the downed 'king's' now buried position much like those who had laughed at him in similar, though nonlethal, circumstances.

"HA!" _Thump!_

Startled, Naruto turned to face the newest intruder upon the throne roof only to be snatched up by a feminine hand grasping firmly at the back of his shirt and lifting him up to the direct gaze of an amused Ruby Heart with a cannon strapped to her back as well as a ship anchor. The somewhat dark, mischievous grin upon her lips did little if not nothing to ease the pounding heart in the smaller blonde's chest. "I thought ye been actin' strange as of late," she remarked coolly as she let the kid in her grasp squirm slightly. "Now if you had ran off to join in the fightin' with the lads or perhaps bombed them yelps from above in a stolen lifeboat, I _may_ be on the forgivin' side of things, you are a boy after all," she continued, enjoying each second of unease the boy in her clutch gave off. "Yet to go off to fight the head of an enemy crew all by ye self... Now that I may have to think upon or a good long while in what to do with ye if ol' Agatha have the a faintest clue as to how to punish ya," she said with a small "tsk" to flourish the faux disappointment permeating her tone.

The slight crackle of shifting rocks drew her attention away from the boy. "And it would seem yer plans didn't even work!" she chastised with glee allotted from the blond boy's irritation in that regard. Without giving the boy any further consideration she tossed him into the awaiting arms of one of her crewmembers who was all but dangling out of a lifeboat as she gave the 'king,' bloodied and battered from the debris that left their mark on all but the crown, her full attention as made evident by the drawing of her anchor and resting it upon her shoulder. As for the 'king' who clawed and shoved his way to freedom to balefully glare at those who trespassed into _his_ throne room. He snarled at the smirking woman before him before his sight turned to a struggle laying at the outermost edge of his line of sight to which he investigated with the same rage he held for the woman to find an odd assortment of creatures trying to keep one of their own from falling over a wooden construct that hovered in the air with a small set of sails along the back, the creature they were trying to drag into, what appeared to be a decayed corpse with most of its mummified flesh still attached to it, the wood object was also trying to keep a steady grasp on a child with golden hair whom seemed to be struggling within the creature's grip.

Deigning a glance to the sky above, his scowl only deepened to find an even larger wooden construct hovering even higher with what appeared to be even more of these creatures, as well as humans, at work or even watching the happenings on the ground beneath them...

_"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

In newfound anger he grabbed an outlying rock larger than his own arm and flung it at the woman before he charged with the same ferocity he had shown the pillars of his once roof. While she dodged the rock, she couldn't dodge the speeding hulk of plate and fiery fur who brought his crystallized sword down upon an anchor raised in her defense, yet the boat held no such luck as the boulder tore through the under-sail of the boat and ripped off a chunk of the aft for good measure whether it was intended or not. The effects were immediate.

"We lost balance!"

"Bring 'em up!"

The boat rocked violently as runes, unseen by most as they rested in the deep grooves of the wood, lit up and sparked horribly as the integrity of the boat was compromised as crucial leylines found within the wood were suddenly gone with no means of immediate repair. It stayed, wobbled, and shook in the air as it descended into the ground at a rapid pace as what magic that still powered it tried to fight off the effects of gravity, yet it only delayed the inevitable. Down it came with a crash, flushing out its current loud of four as wood and other equipment scattered across the stone floor.

Hissing, the captain of the Storm Breaker dared risk a glance as she side stepped another charge of the wild 'king' to oversee the damage to her crew and their 'guest.' No harm, the serious kind of harm, as far as she could tell. Again deftly dodging another attack and swinging at the brute to score a glancing blow at worse, her ear perked with the distinctive opening and slamming of a giant door. Again she risked her attention away from the tactless brute to investigate the cause and purse her lips with a pair of fingers should it be what she guessed.

There, in the only known entrance to the throne room outside of the balcony, was what appeared to be the honor guard to the 'king.'

"RAAAAAAGH!" Sword met anchor in a brief clash of sparks only for the latter to parry the blow and whack at the sword's wielder in his passing while the captain's free hand had wrapped itself around the cannon, swiveled it to point it at the armored brute, and fired with the pulling of a near invisible lever at the side.

**_BOOM! BOOM! KA-BOOM!_**

Though the 'king' had been struck and was all but flying away with a cannonball virtually stuck to his already battered armor, her cannon wasn't the only one being fired. The ship above opened fire on their own volition to keep the horde at bay though a few of the more advance forces now clashed with her grounded crew... Naruto was nowhere in sight.

It was probably for the best.

With the ever present fury still running strong, the 'king' rose up from the latest attack and turned on her with a snarl just as fierce as before and a charge just was thuggish as his previous ones were. It was almost laughable to the pirate captain. Without wasting a true thought on it, she hooked a pair of fingers into the sole ring of the anchor to which she twirled around lazily with little effort and a smirk upon her lips. It was the perfect bait in taunting yet another feral charge, made even more reckless with the subtle insult of her regard to the fight, from the 'king.' Once more he missed her even with the wild swinging of his sword and once more he had been struck by the anchor in his passing.

"Not much for fightin' now are ye?" she quipped as she trotted to the balcony, not a care in the world if her opponent followed her or not in the fashion that seemed to be his one and only skill. And come he did with a bestial roar that made it too easy to track him despite her attention being elsewhere, dodging him was but child's play. Mildly humming, she twirled the anchor about for two more revolutions before jamming it into the ground and leaning into it with crossed arms over the ring. "Tell me," she started as she level a self humored gaze upon the battered 'king' as he turned about with the ever present snarl still marking him. "I can get that you managed to lead ye'self a mutiny here and killed off the last one runnin' this ship. What I don't get is the how. I could probably get a better scrap out of a kid not even a quarter of me age..." Her lips pursed in thought as she complete ignored the indignant state of the one she faced as she bobbed her head to the sides in added musings. "May involve the lad or lass near constantly tossing rocks at me, but that may be an improvement compared to you." Already narrow eyes grew beadier and an gauntleted hand griped itself so tightly that the dented metal began to shriek as it rubbed against its individual plates.

"Now normally I don't go analyzing my enemies with the exception of the particularly tough opponents yet today I'm makin' an exception for ye-"

_"GRAAAH!"_ It was the last straw for the surprising patience the 'king' showed before letting loose his fury once again through yet another charge at the now stationary woman who didn't lose an ounce of her continence as she yanked out her anchor and simply stepped out of the way for the hot tempered gorilla. Again she slammed her anchor into the ground and leaned against it once more with only playful regard to the brute turning about to face her again with utter loathing bearing down on her.

"Now judging from the fact ya wear armor, heavier armor and more complete to even those goons of yours that now face me crew, it's obvious that you value ye life to the point ya would only risk an opening to display dominance. From facin' ye so far I can also tell you lack the skill to face a fighter who ain't rooted to the ground... Now I have to wonder: How did ye even take down the boss that had the position ye stole?" She chuckled to herself, relishing the outright hatred being directed at her in her leisure. "I'm guessin' that ye managed to organize ye'self an army first before you did it; before ye snuck up on the last guy runnin' this ship and done the deed because ye couldn't have taken him on in a _fair_ fight."

If only she had a camera to immortalize the scandalous-... the outraged-... If only she had a camera to capture what bordered on the very real possibility of one's head exploding from _pure_ _unvented_ hate that surpassed what he had displayed thus far. She might even get Zabel to shut his gob in awe if that actually happened now that she thought about it... Or at the very least have it drop his jaw so low that it actually fell out of his head.

_"IT WAS MINE! THE STEWARDSHIP WAS MINE! WEAKLINGS DON'T HAVE A RIGHT TO IT!" _Off like a bolt of with a head tip while the rest of a muted metallic, the gorilla juggernaut missed his smirking target again with even less accuracy than his previous attempts in his first frenzied assault, and again as he turned about like an enraged tornado to crush his enemy! Even the third time failed as the pirate captain barely dodged on purpose in his passing, the gravel of unattended age old architecture carrying over the thuggish 'king' against his will to slam into the railing which fractured with his newfound presence crashing into it. _"IT BELONGS TO ME!"_ he screeched again as he dislodged himself from the stone safety. _"THIS ISLAND BELONGS ONLY TO THE STRONG; ONLY TO ME! IT HAS NO NEED FOR WEAKLINGS AND OUTSIDERS! IT DOES NOT NEED A FAKE KING WHO IS NOTHING MORE THAN A HUMAN TOY! IT NEEDS-!"_

_"FOR YOU TO SHUT UP!" THUMP!_

As sudden as the shout was made know, a rock had sailed through the air and struck true: A massive hand of a gorilla now covered half the face of the wounded 'king' where a now bloodied rock fell to the ground after hitting its target.

"The only fake is you ya bastard," Naruto growled from atop a gap in the wall that helped narrow entry to the balcony. In his hand was yet another rock ready to be let loose on a moment's notice.

_"LOUSY-!"_

What could have been screamed, and undoubtedly followed by a charge, was heard, a sharp whistle penetrated the air from the lips of Ruby Heart. While it was more than enough to draw the attention of those around here, it was what followed that insured all eyes on the ground were focused on her.

**_KA-BOOM!_**

Like before the 'king' was struck once more with a cannonball, yet the law of psychics was in play. With the weakened resistance of the stone railing, both the cannonball and the 'king' crashed through it with the same ferocity as the latter had shown the pillars...

Leaping out of his perch, Naruto quickly absconded to the newly formed hole in the railing to overlook the quickly diminishing figure below of the one who proclaimed himself king as he plummeted to the ground below. His distinctive traits were quickly lost to the brush below by the time Naruto peered over the ledge to witness his fall.

"Now don't think I have forgotten about ye," Ruby suddenly spoke from behind the boy long before the blond could register her presence. The fact that she quickly hoisted him back into the air and into her direct, once again puckish gaze went with its own form of acknowledgement. Glancing above, Naruto spotted yet another raft now descending from the flying ship above to their own position. "Now I wonder what ol' Agatha has in store for ye?" she rhetorically asked as she turned to face the descending craft, soon joined in by the other pirates a little worse for the wear from a battle now settled.

With no one paying Naruto any attention, he snuck a glance back to the recent destruction to the already ruined palace. A frown creased itself as he could've sworn he heard Son Goku mumble something at long last...

XVX

Western Beach, four days later

While everyone else were more than content to live with the idea that the Sage were deliberately taking their time in finding and, allegedly, bringing them what kunai that managed to survive the purge bestowed upon their once numerous ranks, Naruto felt it more of a mixed blessing. Who wouldn't enjoy palm trees, sand, sun, bananas (much to a certain blonde's annoyance), and keeping away from an irate catwoman after being told on by a certain spark with masked glee in the younger blonde's distress over being reamed for acting so recklessly...

Apparently attempting to defeat a gorilla who proclaimed himself a king was not on par with being kidnapped by an S-class hunter and attacking said in a stress induced berserker state in terms of being a forgivable offense.

With nothing to do other than eat bananas and whatever fruit he came across, practice his otherwise limited arsenal of techniques, and mildly roam about in open spaces, Naruto was left with pondering as to why he was more affected by being criticized by Felicia let alone hearing that Agatha ratted him out to her moments beforehand while being under near constant surveillance from his own party as well as the pirates.

Hearing the slight shifting of sand of something approaching, the boy's head swiveled to an entourage of the Sages, eight total save for a pack of five that left the group to make for the nearest leader of the expedition sent to find the keys of the dark, making their way to Naruto. In their midst, spearheading the group, and using one of their own as a consenting crutch to move, was the Steward. The group itself halted save for the Steward and his escort, both stopping less than two feet away from the boy who stared curiously at them while the Steward merely contented himself with staring at Naruto as if he was gauging something that only a wizened elder could see.

No words were spared between them as one peered upon an elder with curiosity and slight anxiety while the other kept his composure for reasons only known to himself.

As if satisfied by what he had seen or at least content, the elder gorilla rose up his free hand to signal one of his entourage to come armed with only a large scroll in the other escort's hands. It was colored with the same red as their fur while a thick band of black, black as their own skin, encompassed both ends of the scroll. No words or other acknowledgement was spent on the Steward's part as he and his aide turned and sauntered back to the entourage while the scroll carrier delivered his charge and left with a bow dispensed beforehand. As for Naruto, his attention kept switching between the scroll and the form of the retreating Steward and his aide.

"Uh... Thank you?"

A twitch of a frown graced Naruto as the Steward didn't give any form of hearing the "thank you," merely content with leaving the beach with his entourage now supplemented by the group that passed the both of them earlier. Shrugging it off both metaphorically and literally, he opened up the scroll and perused the comments... to the best of his ability at least.

"I don't get it."

"Moronic brat."

"Nuts to ya!"

XVX

**DARK TOME: Flying Ships **

**Sky Ships:** Sky ships are a unique form of transportation. Similar in appearance to normal sailing ships, sky ships, as their name implies, fly and sail the sky rather than the sea. Originally developed by wizards wanting an easier way to get around, the sorcery and magic needed for sky ships was later stolen and adapted by normal people. This resulted in the creation of sky sailors and sky pirates. Sky ships are able to fly due to an intricate network of magic lines weaved into the structure, similar to that of leylines, the unseen rivers of supernatural energy that flow through the planet. They are propelled by either wind sails, propellers, or by additional magic. Many of the larger ships, such as the Storm Breaker, are moved through the use of wind sails or possibly propellers as it would take a massive amount of magic and control to move something that large without disrupting the network and causing the ship to fall to the ground. It is this same reason that use of magic on sky ships is limited, however it should be noted that the larger the ship the larger amount of magic that can be used without having to worry about damaging the network. Other then these differences, sky ships sail and operate almost identically to normal ships. To date, the largest sky ship is the Storm Breaker, captained by Admiral Ruby Heart.

**Air Ships:** Air ships, like sky ships, are large vessels that transverse the sky. However, while sky ships look similar to their water bound cousins, air ships take on the appearance of large blimps. Another key difference is that air ships use no magic whatsoever in regards to flying or movement. Instead they rely solely on propellers and similar devices. They are completely technology driven. This also allows magic to be freely used on air ships whereas it would not be possible on sky ships. They were originally created by various Sparks to hold mobile bases and laboratories. In general they tend to be larger and slower then sky ships but can take more punishment and do not need to dock anywhere for repairs. It should also be noted that while not as maneuverable as sky ships, air ships can go much higher and can change their height without having to move forward or backwards. To date, the largest air ship is Wulfenbach Castle, captained by Commander Krosp I (The first*).

**A/N: I apologize for the late post, the most I can say that this was a (more or less) failed attempt to synchronized my stories to allow my less updated ones more time to be updated and the like... .**

**I would also like to apologize if this chapter seems to be lacking, I pretty much been forcing myself to write this to catch up to myself impose deadline as opposed to taking time to write this. I may end up even rewriting this chapter entirely at a later date but admittedly that may take a good long while if not at all.**

**For what it's worth I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention! No refunds.**


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